Redemption
by Monami Hoshi
Summary: When a frightening figure from your past controls you sometimes things happen that you can not change.  No one ever said that redemption was an easy thing for a Shinobi to find.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do Not own Naruto!

Sakura raced through the trees with the rest of her squad. She spared a moment to glance at her three teammates. Naruto with his fox mask was bringing up the rear while Sai with his tiger mask was right behind her. Kakashi once again wearing his dog mask was taking the lead. Her own mask was decorated with a beautiful sakura tree courtesy of Sai. The group all seemed to be pushing themselves to their limit racing through the canopy at break neck speeds. She figured that they were as eager as she was to get back to Konoha. Their mission had been a simple assassination, which once Sakura would have considered unthinkable, now however she knew that such ugliness was a necessary evil. While the mission had been simple as with all ANBU missions it required stealth, no one must know that Konoha was behind the death. So as it was the mission had taken over a month to complete, and it looked like her friends were as eager to get back as she was.

She never would have imagined them acting as an ANBU squad she mused, but when Naruto expressed his desires to join it was clear that he wouldn't even try without her. Sakura was a little unsure of her ability to make it into the elite group of ninja, but after much persuasion from Kakashi and Tsunade she decided to give it a try. She was surprised that she had managed to graduate at the top of the class she was training with. When the training began there had been twenty of them and including herself and Naruto there were only four who were initiated into ANBU. Perhaps what had been most surprising was Kakashi showing up at their graduation in his full ANBU dress.

"Couldn't very well let my team be split up could I," he asked?

Sai had of course already been an ANBU member so Team Kakashi as a whole went on to become an active duty ANBU squad. Well not exactly as a whole; after all Sasuke was not there. Somehow over the years that thought had ceased to be accompanied by a sharp pain. It had been years since his betrayal, she was now a twenty one year old woman, and she guessed that time really did heal all wounds. May not exactly all. While she was no longer hurt by Sasuke's actions she had never truly moved on. No, she was no longer in love with him, but she had never been able to allow herself to trust another with her heart. So while she watched Naruto's relationship flourish with Hinata, and Ino and Shikamaru's relationship move forward as fast as the lazy ninja would allow she threw herself into training.

The years of training under not just her sannin master but also Kakashi had indeed paid off. She had long ago been declared by Tsunade to be the most powerful kunoichi that she knew. She even went so far as to teach Sakura her rejuvenation jutsu. She offered her the opportunity to sign her contract with her slug summons, but Sakura had declined. Instead she had signed a contract with Kakashi's dog pack, she had grown up with them after all, and she had never felt more proud then when her sensei had casually suggested that she might want to consider it. He had also taught her many jutsus including the one that he had vowed to never teach to another after Sasuke, chidori. She had relentlessly worked on her stamina and now had a chakra supply that could rival the copy ninja's. Over all she could not be more happy with her professional life.

Her personal life was not bad. She had one of the best group of friends that a girl could ask for, and well for those events that required a date she had Sai. While he had stopped calling her hag a long time ago there were no romantic feelings between them. The first formal function that they were required to attend with a date Sakura had been a tad nervous about what she was going to do until she had received a knock on her door. When she opened it she was greeted by Sai wearing one of his real smiles which were becoming more common these days.

"Sakura," he had said, "I believe that you should attend this dinner with me."

"Sai are you sure," she asked him?

"I would not ask if I was not," he had smirked. "It is perfectly logical if you take a moment to think about it. I am not capable of romantic feelings, and it seems that neither are you. I do however feel that we have a strong friendship and this arrangement would benefit both of us."

Sakura had not been sure how exactly to take his declaration that she was not capable of romantic feelings, but she had to admit that she needed a date. After that on any occasion that arose where a partner was required she always attended with Sai. He never even asked her to go anywhere with him when an occasion arose he would simply show up on her doorstep with a bouquet of flowers. He had explained that he had once read in a book that it was proper protocol to bring flowers to your date. Sakura always smiled and happily arranged her flowers before they would link arms and head out. It was a comfortable arrangement, and one that allowed her to keep giving her all to her training and work.

Sakura was quickly brought out of her musings when Kakashi abruptly stopped on a branch in front of them.

* * *

"How many," he whispered?

"Over twenty," Sakura replied after quickly spreading out her senses.

"Damn that was what I thought," Kakashi muttered. "They are coming fast."

"I'll take care of them," Naruto loudly declared.

"Perhaps you should be louder They may not have noticed our suppressed chakra," Sai said as he drew out one of his scrolls.

"Sorry," Naruto sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck.

"We are all low on chakra after going at such a fast rate for two days," Sakura said as she quickly withdrew a solider pill from her pack to hand to each of them. "Take them quickly they will be on us soon."

They all complied and then quickly split into two groups and dropped to the ground to prepare for a fight.

"Naruto we are going to try to avoid conflict," said Kakashi who had paired himself with the still sometimes impulsive young man. Before Naruto could respond a quiet voice sounded in his ear.

"I recognize one of the chakra signatures," Sakura said into her transmitter.

"Who is it," Kakashi quickly asked?

"Kabuto," Sakura declared without an ounce of uncertainty in her voice.

"Well that changes things," Kakashi said as he pushed the button wrapped around his neck. "Retreat."

"But Sasuke could be with them," Naruto argued.

"If he is we are in no shape to fight him without a good nights sleep and somehow I don't think that he would be inclined to wait," Kakashi snapped out before he took off after Sakura and Sai who had immediately heeded his order. With great reluctance Naruto followed.

They had made it two miles before Sakura ground to a halt and Sai sent one of his tigers off of his scroll in an initial attack against the six sound nin who had suddenly appeared before them. Kakashi and Naruto turned around keeping their backs to their comrades to begin a fight against the ones that had materialized behind them.

"Create an opening and continue the retreat," Kakashi ordered.

"My pleasure," Sakura smirked as she gathered chakra into her hand and slammed it into the ground making a huge crater and taking out the nins in front of them that had yet to fall to Sai's ink summons.

They began racing through the trees again before they suddenly heard a shout.

"Get the fox," a voice that Sakura immediately recognized as Kabuto called out. So they were after Naruto. Not on her watch she gritted her teeth.

"Kakashi get Naruto out of here," she barked out. She had no doubt that Kakashi had also heard the order given to their enemy. "Sai and I will hold them off."

Kakashi's response was a curt nod before he had to practically drag an enraged Naruto off.

* * *

Sakura gave a quick glance to Sai and saw that he was drawing at such a fast speed that her eyes could barely follow. She drew her own kunai with exploding tags and as soon as she hears a twig snap she launched them.

"Attack like that and you may just blow up the Uchiah," Sai said.

"If he tries to attack me than I just might," she replied.

"There are too many of them," Sai declared. "Given our low chakra levels this is a battle we are unlikely to win."

"It doesn't matter," Sakura replied. "Naruto is too important to the village to fall into their hands. We just have to hold them off long enough for Kakashi to get him far enough away. If we can hold them off that long then we can retreat," were the last words Sakura spoke before all hell broke loose.

The next thing she knew they were locked into a fierce battle the smell of ink and blood tainting the air and boulders raining down around them. She gazed over the opponent that she had just knocked to the ground before she finally spotted Kabuto who was naturally staying out of the battle. Somehow she just knew that he wouldn't step in until entirely necessary. She looked quickly at Sai who was loosing way too much blood from a kunai wound to his chest. She had to heal that fast or her artist friend would not make it for long. She punched her way through four more shinobi before she was finally at his side. Careful to keep her eyes open she raised one of hands to him and began healing.

"What are you doing," Sai hissed? "You don't have enough chakra to worry about that now."

"You don't have enough blood for me not too," she argued as she used her free hand to block an incoming kunai that some ass decided to throw while they thought she was distracted. "They are close enough to Konoha now let's hurry up and make an opening to get out of here."

Sai nodded and began to draw with renewed speed. Suddenly over everything Sakura heard Kabuto give another order.

"Take out the tiger," he said.

Sakura's eyes widened a fraction as she saw an enemy release a barrage of needles that she was certain must be poisoned. Sai was distracted creating another one of his works of art, but Sakura would not let him fall. Her way of the ninja was to protect those precious to her and she was not about to fail now. Without giving it a second thought she dove into Sai pushing him out of harms way, but being hit by six of the needles in the process. Damn she thought a second latter; I was right. Her vision was already starting to blur and her limbs felt heavy. It didn't matter she thought as she went down to her knees and Sai appeared at her side. She was a poison expert all she had to do was get it out and she would be fine.

"That was stupid Sakura," Sai hissed with more emotion in his voice than she had ever heard him use.

"I'll be fine," she said as she raised her hand and tried to call chakra too it.

It was then that she realized two horrifying things at once. The first being that there was something in the poison that had been used which would not allow her to summon any chakra. The second being that while she had been distracted by trying to heal herself and Sai was distracted worrying over her he had been hit. She could see three of the needles sticking out of his left arm. It's over now she thought allowing a little bit of depression to sink in. The enemy seemed to realize it too as they had all ceased there attacks. Sai however refused to give in just yet. Sakura felt a twinge of sorrow as he valiantly gathered her into his arms; she had failed him.

"Don't give up now ugly," he reverted back to his old nickname for her as felt closer to panic than he ever had in his life. However as determined as he was to get her out of there he was only able to take four shaky steps before he too went down and darkness quickly over took his world.


	2. Chapter 2

Slowly Sai became aware of things. First he noticed his pounding headache and the sounds of birds in the forest. Then he noticed that the weight that had been leaning on his chest when he lost consciousness was no longer there. That made him instantly alert. He opened his eyes to confirm what he already knew; Sakura was gone. He was instantly alert ignoring the pain in his body as he quickly set up scanning the wreckage that surrounded him. There were craters left by Sakura's monstrous punches and puddles of ink where his art had once been, but there was no Sakura. His stomach sank as he pushed his abused body as hard as he could in the direction of their village. He had to raise the alarm; Sakura had been taken by sound.

After just an hour he made it into the village not even pausing for the guards at the gate. He had to get to the Hokage's office and he had to get there now. He raced across rooftops until he spied the window which he knew led to her office. It was closed but he knew that she would open it once he knocked. When he got there he felt slight relief Kakashi and Naruto were already there. They had made it, but the relief that he felt was not enough to override the dread for their other teammate.

"But it doesn't make sense," he heard Naruto almost yell. "Why would Orochimaru want me?"

After hearing this he opened the window himself, to hell with knocking.

"I do not think that they wanted you at all," he said as he jumped down to the floor.

"What do you mean that was what they said," Naruto sounded puzzled? Kakashi seemed to notice something that Naruto failed to.

"Sai where is Sakura," he inquired in a somber voice? Sai seemed to hesitate for a moment. Tsunade quickly interjected.

"Where is my apprentice," she asked?

"Sakura has been abducted by sound," Sai reported.

"What did you say," Naruto roared?

"I said that she was taken by sound," Sai repeated.

"But why," Naruto mumbled? "They must want to use her to get me. Orochimaru was a member of Akatsuki maybe he found a use for the nine tailed fox."

"No," Sai interjected in his usual overly cheerful voice that betrayed none of the turmoil he was feeling within. "I believe that Kabuto declared you the target simply to separate the squad. He made sure to stay out of the battle and observed Sakura risk her well being to heal me during the heat of things. It was after that, that he ordered for me to be taken down. An attack was then launched at me; it is my belief that he correctly assumed that she would intervene. The toxins on the needles caused your chakra to become inaccessible and unconsciousness quickly followed. When I was struck I went to her side, but I could not carry her far. When I came to they had taken Sakura and fled the area."

"You bastard," Naruto growled out as he rushed and grabbed Sai by the throat slamming him into the wall before Kakashi could intervene. "How could you stand there and say all that like you don't even care?"

The room was silent for a tense moment before Sai let out a feral growl of his own shocking everyone in the room. He took advantage of Naruto's surprise to violently shove him off of him.

"Just because I do not know how to express my feelings doesn't mean that I don't have them. You were not the one who had to see her go down. The one that she sacrificed herself for; so I don't want to hear another word from you," Sai hissed. Kakashi decided that he had better stop them before the situation got any worse.

"This is not helping Sakura," he said with authority in his voice.

"He is right," Tsunade interjected beginning to lose patience with the young men in her office, "and I think that Sai is right."

"What you think he is right," Naruto blurted?

"She means that the drug used on the needles was designed to use on a medic nin," Kakashi supplied.

"Exactly," Tsunade confirmed. "If any one of you were the target having you simply pass out would suffice, but Sakura would have been able to remove it from herself had it not blocked her chakra. I have a feeling that our dear friend Kabuto brewed that particular toxin with Sakura in mind. Sai I want you to go straight to the hospital so that hopefully we can retrieve some from your system to analyze. Kakashi you and Naruto go home and get a good night's rest. I expect you all here at 8am."

Kakashi and Sai both gave Tsunade a curt nod before Naruto exploded.

"We don't have time for that now. Don't you get it? Sakura is on her way to Sound right now. She could be in Orochimaru's hands as we speak we have to leave now," he argued.

"We retreated because after traveling so hard none of us had enough chakra to fight," Kakashi said. "We all need to go rest and regroup tomorrow. Besides I think that I might have a way to track her in the morning."

Seeing that he wasn't going to be able to win this one Naruto turned to stomp out of the door. Maybe Kakashi was right he knew that they all needed more chakra, but he also knew that there was no way he was going to be able to sleep tonight. 

Sakura tried to slowly open her eyes but the pounding headache that she had was not making that an easy task. It took her a few moments to gather her cloudy thoughts and try to remember exactly what was going on. The minute that she did recall everything that had happened her whole body tensed.

"Well I see that you have awakened," Kabuto said. "I just want to let you know right now that there is no hope of escape. The cuffs that I have bound to your wrists and ankles suppress chakra you won't be able to break them; trying will only bring you unnecessary injury. Now I suppose that you are probably suffering from a pretty nasty headache." With that he reached his hand up and began pumping his healing chakra into her pounding head. Sakura started to recoil from his touch but she knew that she needed to be on top of her game to be able to escape at the first chance.

"Why did you take me," she demanded in the strongest voice that she could muster at the time?

"Orders, but you should know that I always act under Lord Orochimaru's orders," Kabuto chuckled in reply.

"Why did you heal me," Sakura asked out of shear curiosity?

"I have healed you twice before," Kabuto told her, "it shouldn't be such a surprise. I don't like to see people suffer for no reason."

"Funny coming from someone who works for a deranged psychopath," she dryly replied. "What does said psychopath want with me?"

"I am afraid that I can't tell you; you are going to have to wait and ask him yourself," Kabuto told her.

"Can't or won't," Sakura snapped?

"Orders and such," he laughed again.

Deciding that she was not going to get anything useful out of Orochimaru's lapdog and finding it slightly nauseating to talk to him she spent the rest of their trip in silence. She estimated that it was a little more than four hours before Kabuto stopped before a rather inconspicuous looking rock and gave it a small jolt of his chakra. Realizing that they had reached their destination she quickly scanned the area and felt a momentary twinge of disappointment when she saw that they were not at the same base that Team 7 had once infiltrated; there would be no rescue party coming for her.

The next instant she felt guilty for even thinking such a thing. She would never want her friends to put themselves in such danger for her. She was a strong and capable kunoichi and she would find her way out of this; just as soon as they removed these damned cuffs. Finally Kabuto set her down in a long cold hallway.

"Let's go," he smiled, "I will show you to your temporary accommodations before I go let Lord Orochimaru know that you have arrived.

Sakura followed along behind him until she felt a familiar chakra heading their way and she froze. Kabuto had an amused grin on his face when he addressed her next.

"Don't worry you do not have to speak to him if you don't want to and with your mask on I am sure that he won't even recognize you. You have grown quite a bit after all," he assured her.

Sakura sucked in her breath as she saw Sasuke round the corner heading in their direction. She followed quickly after Kabuto not trusting herself to speak to him. She was not only not in love with him anymore, but after their last meeting where he tried to kill her a deep animosity had grown towards the young raven haired man. She had never said it aloud out of respect for Naruto, but in her book Sasuke was nothing more than a traitor to their village who should be dealt with like the other missing nin that she herself had been sent to deal with.

They passed each other without incident; or so she thought until the sound of his footsteps suddenly stopped. Having noticed the same thing Kabuto turned to face Sasuke knowing that the younger man had questions but would not ask them. 

"Orochimaru would like for you to join us in his office in an hour," he told him. He didn't wait for a reply before turning to lead Sakura further into the depths of the base.

When they reached a long hallway with doors lining either side he walked about halfway down and opened one. He held the door and gestured for Sakura to step in. She scanned the room and saw that it contained a bed, dresser, and a small table with a chair at it. Needless to say it was not what she had expected. She finally lifted her mask off her face and gave Kabuto a questioning look.

"Not what you expected," he quirked a brow?

"Not exactly," she replied as she placed her mask on the table. "I am a prisoner after all." Kabuto closed the door before he responded to her.

"You are not exactly a prisoner," he told her in a tone completely lacking its usual sarcastic mirth. "I will tell you this just once. You were brought here to do a job. For now you are an honored guest. Just complete your job and you will be allowed to leave unharmed. If you refuse you will find that your accommodations may not be so nice any longer."

"I will do nothing that could in anyway harm my village," she told him with conviction in her voice, "I am not a traitor."

"If that is the case than I hope that you are able to find solace in your morals, because you will find none here. Don't be so high and mighty; for now you can't afford to cling to your beliefs. Your main concern at this moment is living to walk out of this place," he said before crossing to her. He removed the chains from her, but left the chakra suppressing cuffs on her wrists and ankles before turning and leaving the room without saying another word to her.

As soon as she was alone she sank down on the bed and ran her hands through her hair. This was just great, damn! She was stuck somewhere in the middle of hostile territory with a psycho sannin, Kabuto who was acting rather strange, and Sasuke. What a joy. Maybe she would just have to play nice long enough to get these cuffs off so that she could kill them all, or die trying. 

Sasuke was walking back to his room. He had been on his way to the dojo when he had run into Kabuto and his prisoner. Running into the medic with a prisoner was nothing unusual, however seeing him lead a prisoner to the wing that contained all of their personal chambers was a little strange. Especially considering the fact that the prisoner was a leaf nin. ANBU and the tight fitting garments left no doubt that it was a kunoichi. What was nagging at him most was her mask; the mask with the sakura tree on it.

There was no way he told himself. It could not possibly be her. Why the hell would Orochimaru want anything to do with her? Not to mention that the kunoichi was in ANBU and he knew her well enough to know that she would never become strong enough to join ANBU. Yet still the nagging wouldn't stop.

Sakura lay in her bed with conflicting emotions dancing through her head. She was trying to stamp down the feeling of relief that had surged through her when she saw Sasuke with her own eyes. She now knew that he was alive and given the instructions that Kabuto had given him she also knew that Orochimaru had not yet taken over his body. Why did she even care? He had tried to kill her; any bonds that may have once been between them had been irreparably broken that day.

However being Tsunade's apprentice she had stumbled across a valuable piece of information. It was information that could forever change the path of the self proclaimed avenger. The question now was would she do anything with that information? She didn't have time to think any further about what she would do before there was a knock on her door and Kabuto told her that it was time to go meet with Orochimaru. She followed him down the hall absently tugging at the cuffs that held her prisoner.

When she walked down the hall and Kabuto walked into a room she followed him in; only to be faced with Orochimaru and Sasuke. She couldn't be certain, but she thought that she saw the Uchiha's eyes widen for a split second before returning to normal.

"Sakura I am so glad that Kabuto ran into you," Orochimaru hissed with a sadistic grin on her face.

"Well I am not," she bluntly replied. "What do you want Orochimaru?"

"You certainly are feisty aren't you," he laughed in response. "I understand that you trained under Tsunade. Some even say that you have surpassed her."

"She says that I have surpassed her," Sakura retorted noting that Sasuke's eyes seemed to widen again.

"Excellent," Orochimaru seemed to purr. "Tsunade is perhaps the only medic nin in the world who could heal my arms; or at least she was. I assume that you would be capable of it now?"

"Of course I would," Sakura scoffed.

"Excellent," his face broke out into a huge grin. "We will get started tomorrow. As soon as you have completed the healing I will have Kabuto escort you safely to the edge of fire country."

"I never said that I would heal you," Sakura replied and the room suddenly became so silent that you could have heard a pin drop. "You might as well kill me now. I will not do anything that would help you to harm my country."

"I am not going to kill you," he darkly whispered. "We have many ways to convince you to cooperate. I am feeling gracious so I will allow you 24hrs to rethink your decision. Sasuke escort her to her room."

Ok so his last order which required her to spend time alone with Sasuke almost made her want to agree to begin the process of healing his arms right then. She swallowed down the urge to give in and help the father of all evil and instead followed his apprentice. At least she felt fairly positive that the Uchiha wouldn't try to talk to her, it never had been his strong suit, but she wouldn't deny her irritation that he was getting to witness her humiliation.


	3. Chapter 3

AN/ I just thought that I should warn you guys now before I go any further that this fic gets pretty dark. It has some very mature content in future chapters that some may find disturbing including but not limited to rape. I thank any of you who continue reading.

* * *

After a silent walk down the hall Sakura was actually glad to see her room. The only problem was that when she walked in, much to her dismay, he followed in after her. She turned and studied him for the first time since she had been reunited with him. He had certainly gotten taller, his hair had grown much longer ironically reminding her of Itachi, and his facial features had became more mature with the years.

Overall he had grown to be the completely gorgeous man that she always knew he would become. There were also some things that had not change and she doubted ever would. His deep onyx eyes still seemed to retain the ability to look right into the depths of your being and she hated it.

She was also certain that deep down he was still the cold hearted bastard that had killed so much of himself that he seemed willing to sacrifice even the lives of those he once held dear if it would get him one step closer to his goal. But she could change that couldn't she? No, she was under no illusions that she could turn him into a big cuddly teddy bear, but she could rock the foundation of his existence if she so desired. He seemed to be scrutinizing her almost as hard as she had been him and finally she couldn't take it anymore.

"What do you want," she snapped?

"I told all of you to stop searching for me," was his reply.

"Ha, that's rich," she gave a mirthless laugh. "The world does not revolve around you Uchiha. I will have you know that while Naruto hasn't given up his search for you, but I haven't gone with him for more than five years. I don't like to waste my time."

"Hn," Sasuke snorted. "Then why are you here?"

"Oh, your Master didn't make that clear just now," she mocked? "I was on a mission we were ambushed and led to believe that a member of my team was the target. Another member and I stayed back to delay your comrades. Obviously that didn't go to well. I think that we were wrong and I was probably the target from the beginning."

"Who was the member you thought was the target," he inquired?

"Classified," she retorted. "I don't make a habit of giving the identity of fellow ANBU to hostile forces. Now if you will excuse me while this is the longest conversation that we have ever engaged in I would like to rest now."

"You've changed," he raised a brow before complying with her wishes and leaving her room.

The nerve of that bastard Sakura fumed, and no she wasn't thinking about Orochimaru. How dare he have the nerve to think that she had been searching for him? Did he honestly think that she was the same foolish lovesick little girl that would chase her Sasuke-kun to the ends of the world? 'You've changed.' Damn right she had changed. Right now she honestly thought that if that prick caught himself on fire with one of his jutsus she wouldn't even piss on him or heal him when the fire finally went out. The egotism of some people was simply unbelievable. What just because he was going to stay the same unfeeling psycho who was bent on revenge the rest of the world was supposed to stay exactly the same until he had satisfied his bloodlust? Well she would show him. Her last thought before she went to sleep for the night was that she would rather heal Orochimaru's arms than to ever tell that cocky son of a bitch that she loved him ever again.

Sasuke smirked as he lay down in his quarters for the night. That had certainly been unexpected. He knew that there was something off about the ANBU member when he had first spotted her in the hall, but never would he have truly believed that it was Sakura. Of course the pink hair had been undeniable. It would seem that his teammate who was once only capable of hiding behind him and Naruto had indeed grown up. If what Orochimaru had said was true, and it would seem it was, she had even trained under one of the sannin perhaps even surpassing her mentor. Not to mention that she had grown cold, at least to him, never in a million years would he have thought that Sakura would ever speak to him the way that she had tonight. True she was under the assumption that he had tried to kill her the last time that they had met, but he would have stopped before he hit her even if that crazy man had not jumped in the way, or at least he was pretty sure he would have.

She had also changed physically as well. The tight fitting ANBU uniform left almost nothing to the imagination and she had developed ample curves in all of the places that a woman should while the rest of her body remained lithe presumable from her kunoichi lifestyle. She had allowed her hair to grow; it now brushed her shoulders from the ponytail high upon her head. Though he had no doubt that if it were to ever become a hindrance she would not hesitate to once again use a kunai to chop it off.

Over all if he were the kind of man who had time for such things he supposed that this new Sakura was exactly the kind of woman who would catch his eye. Too bad for her she had managed to catch Orochimaru's instead.

"Welcome to hell Sakura," he whispered before allowing himself to fall asleep.

It had been a sleepless night for Kakashi as he was sure it had been for the rest of his team. Well maybe not for Sai though judging by the young man's surprising emotional outburst this situation was just as hard on him as it was the rest of them. The streets were still empty as the sun was just beginning to lift the darkness of the night as he began to make his way to the memorial stone. When he reached it his eyes instantly went to the eyes of his fallen comrades having long ago memorized their places upon its face. He reached out a finger and gingerly traced the names carrying out his daily routine of atonement. He knew too many names on this stone. Too many of them had once been on his very own team. He felt that he had once done something horribly wrong in his life that he was still paying for to this day. There was of course the disaster with his first team, and who could forget the turmoil that had broken apart his beloved Team 7.

He had lost one of them to his own demons, and ironically it wasn't the one with the demon locked inside of him. After that he had almost pushed the rest of them away, but he felt that they had seen through his hurt and refused to allow him to wallow in self pity. Or at least Sakura had, Naruto was just Naruto. Sakura however had been too perceptive even from the time that she was a youth. Either way neither of them gave up on him, and he knew that they loved him just as much as he did them.

He had the privilege of watching them grow into the wonderful young people that they were today, and for that he was grateful. Naruto had blossomed and now had what he always wanted. Not only was he probably the strongest shinobi that Kakashi had ever seen, but the people loved him now and all of Konoha embraced him. Kakashi knew that meant more to Naruto then all of his jutsu combined.

Sakura however had taken a different path; she had became more like him. After the loss of Sasuke and then his betrayal Sakura had thrown herself into her work, something that he had done himself. It had paid off she was without a doubt the strongest kunoichi that he had ever come across, and that was saying a lot given their Hokage. However she had shut herself off from the rest of the world. Sure she had her friends that she had made as a child, but she refused to allow anyone else to have the chance to ever again hold her heart. It was a decision that he had made himself once long ago, but to this day he wasn't sure that it had been the right one.

He had hoped that given time someone would be able to get through to her. But now he thought as he looked at the stone Sakura may not be given that time. He knew that she would die before she would betray her village. No, he refused to follow this train of thought. He would be damned before he allowed her name to be placed on this stone. Without a doubt he knew that he would happily give his life in the place of hers. With that in mind he bit into his thumb and did a short series of seals. A poof was heard before his beloved summons stood before him; the summons that he had been proud to share with Sakura.

"You rang boss," the small pug said as he scratched behind his ear.

"Yes I did," Kakashi confirmed in his usual jovial tone. "I need you to gather the pack and go find my favorite student."

"Pinky," Pakkun quirked his head, "what happened to pinky? She hasn't tried to summon us."

"I am afraid that she probably can't" he said growing somber. "She has been taken by Orochimaru."

"We will get right on it," the pug said with his eyes almost bugging out of his head.

That taken care of he headed for the Hokage's office. He had an eight o'clock meeting and for once he wasn't going to be late.

Naruto was making his way through the streets with his hands shoved in his pockets feeling more down than he ever had in his life. Sakura was really gone. What if she hadn't insisted on staying behind to allow him to escape; what if he would have insisted on staying with her anyways? He guessed that the all the what ifs really didn't matter she wanted to protect him and he hadn't insisted on protecting her, and now she was gone. He knew how evil Orochimaru was and he knew how loyal Sakura was. The recipe of the two mixed spelled disaster. He would like to think that Sasuke would protect her. He was there and she was his teammate so he wouldn't let that damn snake lay a hand on her, but Naruto was not as dense as everyone thought that he was.

Of course he still wanted Sasuke to come home. This is Konoha his home, and it was where he belonged. Sasuke may not know it but what he needed was to back around his friends. Naruto had seen the change in him. He knew that he wasn't the same Sasuke that he had once been. That was why Naruto had been so desperate to bring him back. Sasuke needed the people who loved him if there was ever going to be hope of bringing back the person that he had once been. With each passing year even as stubborn as he was Naruto was having a harder time believing that he would ever be able to bring Sasuke home, or that he could be saved if they did. Perhaps the worst moment had been when Sasuke tried to kill Sakura. In that instant he had wanted to kill him; so he had never been so glad as when Sakura began to decline going along on rescue attempts.

Now her only hope may lie in Sasuke's hands. Sasuke who had allowed his own heart to harden with his desire for revenge, and that was before he spent years training under a monster. One thing was for sure. If he laid a hand on Sakura's head he would kill him.

Sai made his way quickly across the rooftops wanting to reach the Hokage's office as quickly as he could. He still felt irritated by the words of his blonde teammate, but that was by far outweighed by the feelings of worry for their pink haired friend. While it was true that most of his life he had a very hard time showing emotion he had learned through his time with his overemotional team that he had always possessed them; he had just not known how to identify them.

He could do that now though old habits die hard and he still seldom let any feelings show. Sakura in particular had helped in his development. A few years back he had invited her to his home to look at all of his artwork; something which he would have never considered before. She had even helped him to name several.

Once he had considered that a useless waste of time; now his work just didn't seem complete without that final touch. He had even done a series of six paintings of Sakura whom had been kind enough to pose for five of them.

The sixth had been done purely by memory.

It was a painting that he felt was his most inspired piece yet. They had been on a mission that had gone quite wrong. They had all sustained injury but had been still able to fight, and then the copy ninja had gone down. Sakura had plowed her way through three enemy nin earning a nasty gash on her upper arm in the process to get to their fallen teammate. She had knelt over Kakashi and immediately begun mending his broken form. One of their opponents possessed rather impressive strength and wanted to test it against the kunoichi who had shown a fraction of her own. He had sucker punched her while she was occupied causing her ANBU mask to shatter. Sakura had finished the last of her healing before she stood up and whipped a trail of blood off of her chin as she turned to face him. She had held a fury in her eyes like he had never seen before. She berated the man over how he could have injured her comrade as she gathered chakra into her fist which were tightly clenched by her sides. Needless to say the man's strength had not measured up.

In that one moment when she had been so infuriated Sai had never seen her more beautiful; after they got home Sai was a man obsessed and had spent three whole days making his masterpiece. He had titled it Perfection which caused Sakura to blush as she pointed out that her uniform had been tattered and that she had blood on her in several places. He gave a genuine smile as he had explained to her that those tatters and wounds were caused protecting those bonds that she considered precious, and that in turn made them beautiful.

Sakura was a conundrum. She was graceful and clumsy, kind and quick to temper, she held within her great happiness and deep sorrow. Most of all Sakura was comfortable. He felt more at ease with her than he did anyone and he was not going to lose that. Her abduction had brought about another emotion; fear. He would not fall to this new feeling though. He vowed to use it as his drive, and even if it took the rest of his days he would bring her home. He truly knew now how Naruto felt because he was determined that his Team would be whole again.


	4. Chapter 4

Naruto and Sai were in for quite a shock when they reached the Hokage tower only to see Kakashi already there and talking to Tsunade.

"You're actually on time," Naruto declared!

"Some things are worth being on time for," Kakashi told him.

"Well now that you are all here I will give you your mission," Tsunade cut in. "You are to go and retrieve Sakura. We do not have any new information on Orochimaru's location. After your last encounter with him I am sure that he changed location, but given that was our last lead you need to return and hope that they left some clues as to where they were going."

"You can count on us," Naruto proclaimed. "We won't fail Sakura."

"I hope not," Tsunade whispered. "This mission could be even more dangerous than we originally thought. Kakashi and I are almost certain that since I refused to heal Orochimaru's arms he has taken Sakura to do it for him. If she has then he must be stopped. Therefore once you have located the base I want you to hold back and call for reinforcements."

"You can't expect us to hold off when Sakura could be in trouble," Naruto argued. "Not to mention there is no way Sakura would ever heal Orochimaru."

"Unfortunately Orochimaru has ways of making people do things that they normally wouldn't," Tsunade hung her head before fixing a hard glare on the team before her. "If I can not trust you to follow my orders than I can send a different team out."

"We will do as instructed," Sai interjected.

"Great," Kakashi gave an eye crinkle. "Meet me at the gate in half an hour. Someone is meeting us there who may be able to help make our search a lot shorter. Just in case you had better pack for an extended mission."

With a quick nod they were on their way to prepare for what all three considered the most important mission that they had ever been given.

* * *

Sakura woke to a light tap on her door before it opened to reveal Sasuke carrying a tray of food.

"I was sent to bring you this," he told her as he set it on the table.

"So you are the maid now," Sakura mocked? "Well you shouldn't have bothered. There is no way that I am going to eat any of the food that they send me. Who knows what could be in it."

"You require nourishment," Sasuke said; though he knew her assumption about the food to be correct. With an insane medic like Kabuto around you could be assured that there were some sort of drugs lacing everything that was provided you.

"I'll just have one of these thanks," she replied as she dug through her bag and withdrew an energy bar. Sasuke observed her for a moment before he decided to speak.

"They will be coming for you this afternoon to get your answer," he said. "The punishment if you again refuse will be severe. You should just do what they want so that you can leave this place."

"There is no way that I will help them. I already told them that they should just kill me and get it over with," she retorted. In the blink of an eye Sasuke was right in front of her face.

"You will wish for death before they are done with you, and I assure you that I won't help you," he hissed before leaving her room. Sakura fished around for her bottle of water; her mouth going dry at Sasuke's ominous words.

* * *

For once all of the members were at the gate at the exact time they were supposed to leave. Sai and Naruto both looked expectantly at Kakashi stood there leaning against the gate and reading his Icha Icha book.

"Are we going to go," Naruto's tirade was interrupted by a poof that instantly had all of their attention.

"I can't go to her boss," the small pug looked up at Kakashi.

"What do you mean you can't go to her? You're her summons too right," Naruto asked?

"Of course she's my mistress," Pakkun huffed, "but wherever that bastard has taken her has some sort of a natural block. We would have a much better chance of finding her if you guys took us to the scene of the last battle so we can track her scent."

"Well you heard him," Kakashi said as he snapped his book shut and stashed it into his pack. "Shall we?" With that they were off hoping that they would reach Sakura before their team lost another teammate to the snake sannin.

* * *

Sakura had several hours to lay there by herself before another knock sounded at her door. She wasn't surprised to see Kabuto stick his head in the door.

"Orochimaru will see you now," he told her as he waited for her to get up.

"Fine," she mumbled as she stood and began to follow him. She wasn't shocked at all to see Sasuke sitting by Orochimaru's side again. He really was like a dog following at his master's heel; it was pathetic.

"I was hoping that you have reconsidered my generous offer," Orochimaru hissed. Like hell she had.

"Of course," she answered instead. "But I have a condition."

"What would that be," Orochimaru chuckled?

"If I heal your arms you are not to attack Konoha ever again," Sakura proclaimed.

"As you wish," was his empty promise. "Kabuto if you would be so kind as to remove my healers cuffs."

Kabuto nodded and walked towards her. As far as she could tell none of them showed any doubt in what she had said; none except for Sasuke who had narrowed his eyes but made no further move. She supposed that Orochimaru must be used to having people bow to his wishes. Well she was about to show him.

She waited patiently until Kabuto had the last cuff off of her. Finally she could access her chakra. Her chakra reserves had become quite impressive over the years, and just because she had been unable to use it didn't mean that her body had stopped producing it. She felt magnificent she had never had this much raw power coursing through her veins, and Orochimaru was about to pay.

The moment that Kabuto started to back away from her she landed one of her monster punches on his stomach sending him flying straight through the wall. She wasted no time lunging towards Orochimaru once she had the medic out of the way. She landed a punch directly to his throat that would have killed anyone else. He flew through the back wall and she turned to face Sasuke. She was shocked to see that he hadn't even moved. Was he not going to fight her? She didn't have much time to think about it as she heard a movement behind her. She wheeled around to see Kabuto emerge through the hole that he had made.

"Sakura-chan we are underground," he smiled. "Perhaps compromising the stability of the walls is not the best thing to do. You could bring the whole complex down on top of us."

"I could only hope," she said as she rushed towards him again. She was stopped by Orochimaru's voice and a strange, but vaguely familiar flair of chakra.

"You may be willing to end your own life to bring us down, but I wonder if you will be so careless with his," he asked as he gestured to Sasuke. "If you make one more move I will kill him."

Normally Sakura wouldn't have worried; Orochimaru had his own uses for Sasuke surely he wouldn't harm him. But something was nagging at her; it was that chakra. It was Sasuke's no doubt, but the way he was glaring at Orochimaru told her that his anger was not directed at her. That chakra was weak though. Well maybe not weak, but defiantly no where near as strong as she knew Sasuke to have become. If Orochimaru attacked him right now he would not be able to defend himself. She shouldn't care. He was a traitor and she despised him, but she just couldn't gamble with his life.

"Fine," she conceded as she put her hands down, "but I am still not going to heal you."

"Time for step two; I was truly hoping that it wouldn't come down to this," he shook his head. "Kabuto give her one of your injections."

Sakura almost decided to fight again, but she had a feeling that if she did Sasuke would be the one to pay. Instead she stood still as stone as Kabuto pulled a syringe from his pocket.

"I really am sorry about this Sakura-chan. I told you that you should comply," he whispered as he plunged the needle into her arm.

At first she felt nothing but the slight sting of the needle, but it was only a matter of seconds before she felt like she had acid racing through her veins. It literally felt as though her body was on fire inside, but she was not going to allow herself to cry out. She refused to give Orochimaru the satisfaction. It was a few more seconds before her muscles started to painfully contract making her loose her footing and go down to her knees, but still she refused the scream that was tearing at the back of her throat. Once it was clear that she wasn't going to get up Kabuto stepped forward and placed the cuffs back around her wrists.

"Sasuke take her back to her room. We will try again tomorrow," Orochimaru said with a sadistic grin on his face.

Sasuke walked carefully down the hall trying his best not to unduly rattle the girl in his arms. Since they had left Orochimaru she had yet to make a sound though her eyes would sometimes widen with pain. When they reached her room he laid her down on her bed and pulled a blanket over her. She was unresponsive but he knew that she would be for at least the next six hours. Sasuke was going to be sure to be back because when she did come to he had a lot to say to her. To put it mildly he was furious.


	5. Chapter 5

I want to thank everyone who has read so far and also a huge thanks for the reviews that I have received. Also to Sakura's Indecision I have given a great deal of thought to some of the suggestions that you have made and as such I may make a few changes to where this thing is going. Anyways you guys are great and I hope that you all enjoy reading this fic as much as I have had writing it so far. This is my first ever Naruto fic and you are a very encouraging group of fanfic readers J

Sakura had no clue how long she had been out of it. She could vaguely recall Sasuke carrying her to her room; after that there was just mind blowing agony. Even now she could feel her body shaking with residual pain. While it was nowhere near as bad as it had been she was in no shape to even try to set up. Her mind was still so clouded that it took her a few minutes to register the other presence in the room.

"Sasuke," she whispered her voice weaker than she liked.

"Hn," he replied. "Tell me Sakura; if I recall correctly you used to be rather intelligent. So whatever possessed you to act like a fool tonight?"

"What are you talking about," she asked?

"I told you to comply with him, but you wouldn't listen. Then when you had your cuffs off and had the perfect opportunity to attack you held back. Why is that," he inquired?

"You were there remember," her voice gained some strength. "If I would have continued they would have killed you. Something was wrong with your chakra. What have they done to you?"

"No you remember," Sasuke shot back ignoring her question. "Remember that you are in the snakes den. Remember that I am the enemy; a traitor to your beloved Konoha. Most of all remember that the only thing that matters is your survival. So for once forget about Konoha and forget about me. Just live long enough to get out of here and if ever again you have the chance to attack do not hesitate. If you can defeat Orochimaru, Kabuto will stop fighting at least long enough to allow you time to get the hell out of here."

"What about you," she questioned, "will you attack me?"

"No," he replied, "but I will not help you either."

"You've already made that clear," she said with ice in her voice. Sasuke made no response other than to turn and leave. Well at least Sakura now knew what she had suspected earlier. Sasuke would not attack her; it would seem that there was trouble in paradise.

'Something is wrong with your chakra. What have they done to you,' she had asked him?

Fury still flowed through his veins at the thought of what they had done to him, but it was none of her damn business. Who did she think that she was to come here and throw the obvious in his face? Obviously things were not going according to plan, but it was none of her concern. Even though he would never admit it he wanted to see her make it out of this hell. All of that given he still would not help her; though somewhere in what was left of his withered heart he wanted to.

They had traveled well into the night before reaching the site of their last battle. Thankfully they had run into no resistance, but unfortunately the dog pack seemed to be unable to track Sakura.

"I can't pick up her scent no doubt she must have been carried away and they went through great measures to cover even their scent," the pug seemed disturbed that they had not been much help. "It looks like they fled to the west though so at least you have a starting point."

"Thanks," Kakashi sighed before dismissing his summon. "We will rest here and head out at first light."

"You can't be serious," Naruto grumbled. "Sakura could be in trouble right now and you want to just rest?"

"We are going to be facing a sannin. We have to be at the top of our game," Kakashi admonished.

"I believe that Sakura would agree. I shall go gather fire wood," Sai added.

"We will be pushing hard tomorrow; I suggest once the fire is made you eat and then get some sleep. I will take first watch," Kakashi told them as he leapt into the nearest tree.

Sakura woke up the next day still having occasional stabs of pain. She slowly set up in the bed and bent over to grab her pack. Rummaging around she found that she only had six energy bars left; if she split them all in half she would still only have twelve more meals. At least she had a bottle of solider pills to fall back on if it was necessary; though she was almost certain that she would not live long enough to worry about food. She had just finished eating and was wrapping the other half of one of her bars up when her door opened. She knew that Sasuke and even Kabuto knocked before they entered so she was not too surprised to see Orochimaru standing there.

"Kabuto and I will be returning for you at noon. I only thought it fair that I give you warning that if you do not comply things will be much worse for you today," he hissed.

"I already told you to just get it over with I am not going to heal you," she insisted.

"Dear Sakura there are things that are so much worse than death. Why don't you go ask your dear Sasuke-kun? His room is two doors up I just spoke to him it seems that since your arrival he has become more obstinate than ever," he smirked before closing her door.

Sakura set there for a moment before the possible implications of Orochimaru's words finally got the best of her. Had he hurt Sasuke? In that moment Kakashi's words wouldn't leave her mind. 'Those who break the rules are scum, but those who abandon their friends are worse than scum.' She wasn't an idiot Sasuke wasn't her friend, but he once had been, and she supposed that there was only one way to find out if Orochimaru had really hurt Sasuke.

Damn Sasuke thought as he lay on his floor. This was getting really old. If it wasn't for his desire to get vengeance for his clan than he would have left a long time ago. At least he liked to think that; he knew that circumstances had changed and even if he did decide to leave he would never make it off the base. Hell right now he couldn't even make it off the floor. Just then he was brought out of his musings by a knock on the door and since no one knocked on his door anymore he had a pretty good idea of who it was. The last thing he really wanted to do was be seen like this.

"Go away," he barked out in between panting for breath. Naturally Sakura didn't listen and the next thing he knew she was kneeling next to him. He didn't miss the gasp that she let out upon seeing his condition. Perhaps she wasn't as cold towards him as she let on.

"What did he do to you," Sakura whispered? It was obvious that Sasuke was having a hard time breathing and he had an alarming amount of blood running down his chin.

"Nothing now leave me alone. I will be fine," he said gathering as much strength as he could into his voice. What she said next struck a chord somewhere deep in him.

"I am not scum," and with that she started to pull him up into a setting position. Once she thought he had enough time to somewhat gather himself together she looped her arm under his shoulders and began to stand. It was slightly alarming that she could feel his shaking. Sasuke should never shake. He was supposed to be too strong to ever show such weakness.

"I suppose that you are saying that I am scum," he quirked a brow?

"To be honest I thought so, but I am beginning to wonder if you are the prized protégé or the unwilling prisoner," Sakura shot back and smirked when she felt him tense with anger.

"You can leave now," Sasuke said once she had helped him down onto his bed. She ignored him and walked into his bathroom where he heard water begin to run. In minutes she was kneeling in front of him and wiping the blood from his face.

"He is the one that sent me here. Did you think that I suddenly decided to visit you? He told me to come and ask you about punishment. But this isn't from being beat into submission. Tell me Sasuke what did he do to you," she asked?

"It is not your business," he curtly replied.

"I am stuck here too you know," she retorted. "I think that I have a right to know what I am up against." He was silent for so long that she thought he wasn't going to answer.

"Evil," he whispered so quietly that if not for years of being in ANBU she might have missed it. "You are up against pure evil. You are right this has nothing to do with a physical attack. I began having disagreements with Orochimaru two years ago. At first it was like with you I would rebel and Kabuto would use one of his damned potions on me, but I also refused to give in."

"So what did he do," she prompted?

"As you know I have the curse seal. When I first came here I was put on a team. I grew to trust them so I did not hesitate to tell them that I planned to grow as strong as I could under Orochimaru and then kill him. They betrayed my trust and once Orochimaru became aware of my plans he had Kabuto develop this disease. It is somehow linked to this seal and if I disobey he uses it as a means to control me. As it is even when he does not activate it; it feeds off of my chakra. I never have access to even half anymore." As a medic Sakura had a million questions running through her mind finally she settled on one that had nothing to do with medicine.

"But why does he allow you to still wander around? I know he has dungeons why not just lock you there or kill you," she asked?

"I thought that answer would be clear," he replied looking into her eyes and activating his sharingan. He was surprised when she didn't look away but held his gaze. "He wants me to continue to gather jutsu so that when he takes over my body he will have an endless supply."

"Damn these cuffs," Sakura tore her gaze away from his to tug on the restraints that she hated more every day. "If not for these I am sure that I could heal you."

"Didn't you hear me," he scoffed? "This is no normal illness Sakura, it is tied to my curse seal, and you can do nothing for me."

"Stop underestimating people that you haven't been around for years," she bit back. "I am Naruto's teammate and with Jiraiya gone we had to have someone to ensure that his seal remains intact. With my perfect chakra control I made the best candidate. I trained under not only leaf but also sand ninja who specialized in the creation of seals. That way between Yamato and me someone would always be around in case of an emergency. Not only could I cure you, but I could remove that damn seal if I felt like it."

"Hn," was his reply though he was truly impressed. He had thought it before since her arrival, but he was coming to realize more everyday that this was not the Sakura he had once known. "I wouldn't go advertising that to Orochimaru if I were you."

"Ha, maybe I will just throw it in his face for the hell of it," she laughed.

"Sakura," he grew serious, "do not anger him. He could do this or worse to you. You are lucky that he is only asking you to heal him. He could make you get your hands much dirtier than that. Do not tempt fate."

"Sasuke," she slowly reached up and dared to trace her finger along his jaw. "My fate was sealed the moment that I was brought here. I am sorry that you are going to have to be here for all of this, but I will not bend to his will."

"I vowed never to lose another precious person," he sighed.

"I haven't been precious to you for years if I ever even was," she said as she rose and started for the door. "When you said that you would not help me was it that you wouldn't or that you couldn't?"

"I wish that I were able to assist you," he replied and felt his heart beat a little faster at the smile that graced her face with his reply.


	6. Chapter 6

"Still nothing," Naruto grumbled as he kicked at the ground. "You know that every minute that we can't find her is a minute too long."

"Well Orochimaru has had years of practice hiding," Kakashi sighed. "Maybe it is time that we ask for some assistance."

"You wish to return to Konoha for reinforcements," Sai inquired? It did not seem like a good option to him. He just wanted to keep moving forward; no one in the leaf village knew anymore than they did. To go back now would be wasting time that he feared Sakura didn't have.

"No, that would be a waste of time," Kakashi echoed his thoughts. "However we aren't far from sand so perhaps we could go and see if the Kazekage has heard any rumors that could be of help to us."

"Would the Kazekage offer his assistance," Sai asked?

"Of course he would," Naruto exclaimed! "Sakura helped save his life. He wouldn't be here today if not for her and Gaara won't forget that. Well what are we waiting for? Let's get going already."

With that they were off hoping against all odds that perhaps Gaara knew something that would help them to bring their teammate back.

* * *

Sakura was back in her room trying to come up with a plan. What she needed to do was come up with a way to get these stupid cuffs off. Then she could heal Sasuke and they could fight their way out of here. She hadn't lied when she told Sasuke that she was resigned to her fate, but that didn't mean that she was willing to let him suffer his. She knew that the chances of both of them making it out were thin and she decided that she wanted him to get out of here.

It was when she was listening to his story that she decided that she had to tell him everything that she had learned. If she did then maybe he would give up his search for vengeance; at least against Itachi. Maybe once he had all of the facts Sasuke would finally have the chance to heal and be the man that in the past she had dreamed he would be.

She had given up the hope that she would ever be a part of his life a long time ago, but deep down she had always hoped that he would still find a way to overcome his tragic past. She was still lost in her thoughts when there was a knock on her door and Kabuto stuck his head in wearing a grave expression on his face.

"You know why I am here," he told her, "and this time I am serious. Please Sakura-chan just give him what he wants so that this can all be over with. If not I am afraid that today will be much worse for you."

"So be it," she sighed as she followed him back to the room she despised.

"You are here," Orochimaru purred, "I am so glad that you could join us."

"Let's just get this over with," she cut in. "I am not going to heal you so just do whatever you have to do." Orochimaru set there in thought for a moment before a dark look crossed his face.

"Fine," he hissed. "I am almost glad that you won't comply. I think that I am going to enjoy watching you suffer today."

Kabuto started to walk towards her before Orochimaru's voice stopped him.

"No, not you, today I think that we shall allow Sasuke-kun to punish her," he laughed. "Sasuke use that jutsu that you just acquired."

There was a tense second where Sakura actually felt a stab of fear. Damn Orochimaru and his mind games. Finally Sasuke's voice broke through the silence.

"No," he firmly said.

"Are you defying me again," Orochimaru asked?

"Hn," was his only response.

"So be it," he laughed before beginning to use his curse seal to summon the symptoms of the illness that had been planted within him.

"No," Sakura cried out and started to make her way to him only to be stopped by Kabuto's firm grasp on her shoulder.

"You don't like this kunoichi," Orochimaru mocked as Sasuke's body was wracked with coughs bringing up blood with each one. As he doubled over Orochimaru addressed her again. "You can make it stop. I put his life in your hands."

"I still won't do it," the sorrow was apparent in her voice. "I am sorry Sasuke."

"Fine," Orochimaru roared she had called his bluff and he didn't like it. "Kabuto no drugs make it personal I want to hear her bones snap, and tomorrow if she will not comply I will kill her."

Just like that her world was sent spinning by a hard hit to her head. With her vision still clouded she tried to get into a defensive stance, but with no chakra she didn't really stand a chance. She fought valiantly though; her hits even without her chakra enhanced strength were nothing to play around with. She landed a solid hit to Kabuto's gut sending him back a few feet and knocking his breath out of him. What he said when he stood though changed everything.

"Chakra scalpel," and with that he was on her.

He was merciless. In a matter of minutes she was suffering from a deep gash on her shoulder and when she tried to put a hand on it to staunch the flow of blood. With a sweep her feet were out of under her and she was on the ground. She was helpless then all she could do was keep as firm a grip on her shoulder as she could and endure his kicks. Somewhere in the midst of it all her head had turned to face Sasuke who was also on the ground by now. Their eyes locked, and that was how she endured the rest of her beating, with Sasuke as her anchor.

"Enough," Orochimaru said after what felt like hours. "Get them both out of my sight."

Kabuto bent down to retrieve Sakura but she stopped him.

"Take him first please," she requested. Kabuto nodded and went to Sasuke instead. When the door was closed she spoke again.

"Let's make a deal," she said to the snake.

"I am listening," he smiled.

"I am not a fool," she whispered. "I know that you never intended to let me leave here alive, but I will heal you anyways. As long as you agree to remove whatever it is that was done to Sasuke."

"I can do that," Orochimaru complied. "Is that all?"

"No I need the cuffs off and I need a day to be able to heal myself and allow my chakra to build back up," she told him. Kabuto chose that moment to return to the room.

"Done," Orochimaru said. "Kabuto remove her cuffs and get her some food, she will need it to rebuild her chakra reserves. Make sure that the food is enhancement free. Then go to your lab and start working on a way to remove dear Sasuke-kun's disease. I will see you the day after tomorrow kunoichi at that time Kabuto will cure Sasuke in front of you and you will begin the restoration of my arms."

Sakura nodded her head as Kabuto took the cuffs off her wrists. He then went so far as to heal her shoulder before lifting her up bridal style to take her to her room.

"I need my chakra for my research," he said as they walked down the hall. "With your shoulder healed you are out of immediate danger. I trust that you can handle the rest tomorrow."

Again all that she could do was nod as he laid her on the bed. Her heart was heavy; she had just made a deal with the devil.

* * *

The journey to Sand went as smoothly as the rest of the mission had; well except for the not being able to find Sakura part. Even though their trip had been unplanned and they had no meeting scheduled they were now sitting in the waiting room and should see the Kazekage in a few minutes. The door to the office opened and Kankuro stepped out.

"What brings you guys here," he asked? He seemed to be looking around the waiting room for something as he spoke.

"She isn't here," Kakashi supplied. He knew that the sand nin held a certain amount of affection for their pink haired teammate after she had saved both his and Gaara's lives. "That is why we are here."

"Come on in," Kankuro's voice grew serious as he opened the door wide enough to allow all of them admittance. He led them to several chairs that were in front of the Kazekage's desk.

"State your business," Gaara said not turning away from looking out the window to even spare them a glance.

"We have come to see if perhaps you have any word, rumors even, on Orochimaru's whereabouts," Kakashi answered.

"Why does the location of the snake concern you? Going on another useless mission to retrieve Sasuke," Gaara asked?

"No," it was Naruto who answered. "Orochimaru took Sakura and we are going after her." This got Gaara's attention and he turned to face them.

"The pink haired medic was taken. How did this happen," he inquired?

"We were ambushed and sent Naruto and Kakashi ahead," Sai spoke up. "They had a poison that instantly blocked chakra and induced unconsciousness."

Gaara got a contemplative look and his face and rested his head on his hands. After giving the matter great thought he spoke to them again.

"There have been some rumored sightings of creatures that sound like Orochimaru's experiments. Kankuro will accompany you with the coordinates and will assist with the retrieval of the medic," he said.

"Thank you Kazekage, but the coordinates will suffice. We didn't come here to take one of your best ninja from you," Kakashi told him.

"We owe her," Kankuro firmly stated. "I will be ready to leave in an hour."

"Sakura would not say that you owe her anything," Kakashi assured them.

"Just because one is gracious and demands no payment does not mean that a debt does not exist," Gaara said leaving no room for argument. "You may go and refresh your supplies before you leave and I wish to be notified when you find the girl."

With that said Team Kakashi was on their way out to prepare for the journey ahead of them. Thankfully after the brief meeting with the Kazekage their hopes had already been renewed.


	7. Chapter 7

Sakura heard her door open late that night, but she didn't look up; she had a pretty good idea of who it was. Her suspicion was confirmed when her visitor spoke.

"Are you alright Sakura," Sasuke inquired?

"I will be," she replied. "I don't have enough chakra to heal myself tonight, but I should have plenty to work on both of us in the morning."

"What do you mean," Sasuke asked? He lifted her arm and saw that the cuffs were no longer there. "You finally agreed to heal him?"

"Well I agreed, but I have no intention of doing it," she told him.

"You are playing a dangerous game," he said.

"I know but it really doesn't matter. I am glad that you came by there is something that I needed to discuss with you," she whispered. He saw that she seemed to be struggling for words.

"What is it Sakura," he prompted?

"Well," she started, locking her eyes with his, "as you know I am Tsunade's apprentice. As such I have virtually unlimited access to all of Konoha's records. I was down in the vault looking for some past ANBU files when I ran across one labeled Uchiha and I just couldn't resist looking at it."

"You found Itachi's file," he whispered?

"Yes I did," she confirmed. "Sasuke did you ever get a chance to look over those files?" She waited until he gave a slight shake of his head to continue.

"Well by all appearances from the very beginning of his shinobi career Itachi was extremely loyal to Konoha and exceptionally skilled. He was only given the most difficult missions that you could imagine; especially for someone as young as he was," she told him.

"They always called him a prodigy," Sasuke confirmed keeping his cold demeanor on the outside though inside he felt nothing but turmoil; he had never spoken this much about Itachi to anyone.

"His missions also included reconnaissance work. There were several deeply undercover intelligence gathering missions that were assigned to him," she said.

"What are you getting at," Sasuke asked not liking where this conversation was going?

"Itachi was given a mission by the elders; Danzo mainly, to spy on the Uchiha's. They seemed to believe that your clan was planning on starting an uprising. Itachi's work confirmed that. Sasuke I am sorry but Itachi was acting under orders to massacre your clan," she finished in a whisper.

"No," Sasuke blurted, "you have to be wrong. There is no way that the Hokage would have ever agreed to such a thing."

"You are right he didn't authorize it, but Itachi was presented with a forged mission order that led him to believe otherwise. It was still in his file. But Itachi didn't complete his mission. You see he knew that they gave him this mission and not anyone else because they did not want to lose the sharingan. That was why he let you live. Sasuke your brother could not bring himself to kill you. After his mission was complete he went straight to the Hokage tower to report that his mission was complete he had killed them all with the exception of you. The Hokage was horrified to learn what had happened," Sakura paused to look at Sasuke.

"If this is all true then why did he leave," Sasuke whispered in the most unsteady voice Sakura had ever heard from him?

"That was in the file too. The Hokage told Itachi that he could remain in the village to raise you, but Itachi declined. He said that the only way that he could ensure your protection was to leave and that you had witnessed him, and he knew there could never be any forgiveness for that. I went straight to Tsunade with the information that I had found and she looked it over and said that it made sense. You see after Jirayiya's death she discovered that Itachi was his spy in the Akatsuki. I am so sorry. I wanted to come tell you, but Tsunade said that it would do no good and you would never believe me. We couldn't even tell Naruto or Kakashi for fear that they would go after the elders," she began to apologize.

"She was right," Sasuke stopped her. "If you had sought me out with that tale I never would have believed you, and probably would have killed you for daring to tell such lies."

"Do you believe me now," she looked down?

"I do," he replied causing her head to shoot back up. "Under these circumstances you gain nothing by lying to me. I don't really believe that you would anyway. Now sleep you need to regain your strength by morning."

* * *

The next morning Sakura was surprised to see that Sasuke was still in her room; he had fallen asleep in the chair. She carefully got up and walked as silently as she could towards the bathroom not wanting to wake him.

"You don't have to be so quite," he said making her jump.

"I am glad that you are still here," she smiled. "Just let me go clean up and I want to go on and start healing you before Orochimaru realizes what I am up to." Sasuke arched a brow but decided to hold his question until she was finished.

"What was the deal that you made with him," he asked as soon as she stepped back into the room?

"Does it matter," she answered with a question? Seeing the glare that he was giving her she saw that it did matter to him. "I told him that I knew he would never let me go so I insisted that Kabuto heal you before I would heal him. I also told him that I needed a full twenty four hours to regain all of my chakra."

"Which obviously you don't," Sasuke retorted. "So tell me Sakura why ask them to heal me? What do you gain by that?"

"Well if I ask them to do it then they won't have a clue that I can. So they will never expect both of us to be at full power next time we face them. It evens up the odds. Well it does if you are willing to fight with me," she finished.

"This once I suppose that I could," he smirked at her.

"Lay down it will be easier for me to reach your seal," she smiled at him. "Now I am not going to lie this will hurt, but it will be over soon."

"Stop worrying about me Sakura," he told her as he turned his head to face her giving her easier access. He soon discovered that she had indeed been telling the truth; it hurt like hell to have a seal removed.

"So what are you going to do now that you know the truth about Itachi," Sakura asked partly to distract him and partly because she wanted to know?

"I shall still have my vengeance," he declared through gritted teeth. When he felt Sakura tense he elaborated. "Only now it does not lie with Itachi. Will you try to stop me from going after the council and Danzo?"

"Ha," Sakura actually laughed. "Not a chance. I am loyal to my Hokage; they are not. The only thing those bastards care about is lining their pockets. If we both make it out of here I will use a medical jutsu to hold their eyes open so that you can use your sharingan on them."

Sasuke reached out and took her hand that was not occupied with removing his curse seal.

"We are both going to make it out," he assured her. The half smile that she gave him made him almost certain that she knew something that he didn't, and it unsettled him greatly.

After more than an hour of working Sakura finally removed her hand and leaned forward to inspect her handy work. Sasuke supposed that as a medic she was used to being in such close proximity to her patients, but he found it rather unnerving to say the least. With her as close as she was he was aware of things that he had never noticed before; like the sweet smell that did not come from a bottle, but was uniquely Sakura. He was all too conscious of the fact that her breast was pressed against his arm causing a tingling sensation to run down his spine. Most of all he was aware that if he were to turn his head just slightly to the side their lips would brush against each other.

"All done," Sakura declared as she set up, and judging by the light blush dusting her cheeks she had also been aware of all the things that he had noticed. "Do you feel any different?"

"My chakra is already replenishing," he told her refusing to acknowledge all of the other ways that he was feeling different.

"Great," she chirped. "We should both be sure to keep a large portion of our chakras cloaked so we don't raise any suspicion. Now Orochimaru said that I was allowed to have enhancement free food. I don't suppose that you know where I could find some around here?"

"Of course," he replied standing to lead the way while making a mental note of the fact that extensive healing left her hungry.

* * *

They were walking silently down one of the winding halls when Sasuke heard something that caused him to hold his hand up bringing Sakura to a halt. It was Orochimaru and Kabuto having a conversation in low tones.

"Have you finished the potion that we need," Orochimaru asked Kabuto?

"It will be ready by morning," Kabuto confirmed.

"You are certain that she will have no memories of her previous life," Orochimaru inquired?

"Absolutely," Kabuto assured. "It is impossible to totally remove her memories or we risk her losing her skills, but when can lock them so far away that she will have no hope of ever recovering them. Combine that with the new memories that we will implant and she will be ours."

Sasuke wasn't sure that Sakura had been able to hear the conversation, but when he turned around and looked at her face he knew that she had. He grabbed her arm and led her quickly back to the room. Her meal would have to wait. Right now they had to figure out exactly what to do.


	8. Chapter 8

**Though she was doing well to hide it Sasuke did not miss the fear in her eyes as they silently entered her room. He had to admit that if he were in her shoes he would feel nervous as well.**

"**We will leave tonight," he told her once he had shut the door behind him.**

"**Ok," she sighed as she went to her pack and withdrew two energy bars handing one to Sasuke.**

"**You seem to have your stuff still in your bag," he told her as she handed one of her bars to him. "When we are finished here we will go and gather the few things that I will require for our travel."**

"**We will go get your things," she asked?**

"**Yes we," he confirmed, "until we leave I am not letting you out of my sight."**

"**Alright," she smiled. "Who would have imagined that Sasuke Uchiha had a protective side?"**

"**If you ever tell anyone I will deny it," he replied with a smirk.**

"**Wow, was that a joke," she laughed. "I feel like I am getting to know a Sasuke that no one else has ever seen."**

"**You are," he quietly replied. Sasuke Uchiha had never imagined that he would have the sort of feelings that Sakura elicited from him. There was actually a point in time when he had considered her one of the most annoying people that he knew, but no longer was that the case.**

**His years of isolation in a hostile environment had changed his view on many things. There had been many times at night when he told himself that he had taken the wrong path. Perhaps; he would think that he should have stayed in the Leaf village and worked harder to grow stronger there. Sakura showing up had confirmed that. She the weakest among them had grown to become one of the strongest.**

**Not only that, but Sakura had matured. True she could come across as cold, but it seemed that she was not unwilling to let people in. He had never been willing to allow people in, but she seemed to be the exception. Their relationship had to this point been a strange one, she had claimed to love him, she claimed to hate him, and now she had freed him in more ways than one. He found himself unwilling to let her go. He felt closer to her than he had anyone since that fateful night so long ago. **

**It was with those thoughts running through his head that he closed the distance between them and captured her lips in a kiss. At first she seemed to freeze, but with a little gentle persuasion she was as lost to the kiss as he was. It began chaste but within seconds it was passionate. Her lips parted and soon their tongues were in a battle for dominance that neither of them seemed willing to lose. It was only the need of air that finally caused them to part. Sasuke looked at her and noted the way that her cheeks were stained with a deep blush and her chest was heaving in an attempt to steady her breathing. He had never seen anything more beautiful.**

"**That was a first," Sakura finally said.**

"**Was that the first time that you have kissed a traitor while in the enemy's base," Sasuke smirked?**

"**No," she whispered unwilling to meet his eyes. "That was my first kiss."**

"**It was mine as well," Sasuke acknowledged as he lifted her chin so that they were looking at each other. "I think that we have both been too preoccupied with training to allow ourselves to partake in such behavior."**

"**I guess so," she agreed.**

"**But from now on I would like to have you by my side," he confided.**

"**Absolutely," she smiled. "We can take down a sannin together, followed by Danzo and the council, and then we can train together to become the most powerful ninja in the land."**

"**I would like that," he told her with the first genuine smile that she had ever seen on his face. It was too bad that the touching scene was interrupted by her door opening and two unwelcome visitors stepping in.**

**

* * *

**

"**That was touching wasn't it Kabuto. I believe that we are witnessing the beginnings of young love," Orochimaru mocked. **

"**I think that you are right," Kabuto agreed reaching one hand into his pocket.**

"**Too bad that we can't allow it to bloom," Orochimaru hissed. "I knew that you agreed too easily kunoichi. You are far too spirited to be submissive already. Unfortunately I do not have the time to break you; it would have been so much fun. But I have plans of my own and I need to set them into motion now. I hope that you enjoyed your time with her Sasuke, but I am afraid that she is mine now."**

"**You will not lay a hand on her," Sasuke growled starting to take a protective step in front of Sakura. Her hand on his arm kept him at her side. They had agreed to face things side by side, and it appeared she meant to start now. Though this time he wished that she would step back and allow him to defend her.**

"**Let's get this started," Sakura said cracking her knuckles in a menacing manner before lunging at Kabuto. Sasuke was grateful that at least she had left Orochimaru to him.**

"**This is going to be too easy," Orochimaru laughed as he started to try to call on the power of Sasuke's curse seal. It was easy to see the instant that he realized it was no longer there. "Bitch," he roared as he launched himself at Sasuke.**

"**Don't like your seal being removed," Sakura laughed. "Now I think that it is too cramped to fight in here. Let's make some room shall we," and with that she launched Kabuto through the nearest wall.**

"**Sakura-chan try to remember that we are underground," Kabuto reminded her again as he gathered himself up.**

"**This time I don't give a damn. Sasuke can look after himself," she said as she was on him again. She landed one more punch but felt a slight prick on her arm as she pulled back. Instantly she began to feel drowsy and had to lean on a wall for support.**

"**It is done," Kabuto called out causing fear to course through Sakura's system. "There is no use in trying to draw it out Sakura-chan I made sure that it is not possible to remove."**

**Orochimaru turned his back on Sasuke and started walking for the hole in the wall. For once Sasuke was not interested in attacking his opponent's weak spot. Instead he pushed past the snake and ran into the next room.**

"**Sakura," he cried out as he saw her leaning on the wall. What he found most alarming was the series of seals that he saw her doing with her hands. **

"**No," he yelled as he leapt over and grabbed her wrists stopping her jutsu. "Sakura that was a suicide jutsu; that isn't the answer." She looked at him for a moment with dazed eyes before she spoke in a far away sounding voice.**

"**But I can feel it all slipping away," she whispered. "No matter how hard I try to hold on I can't."**

"**Hold on to this," he implored taking her hand in his. "Listen to me you might lose it for a while, but I vow that I will get you back. I will save you if it is the last thing that I do." Before she could speak again she lost consciousness and it was only Sasuke's grip that kept her from falling to the ground.**

"**What have you done to her," he growled?**

"**I assure you that I have done her no physical harm," Kabuto assured him.**

"**But she won't remember you or any of the other Konoha brats when she wakes up," Orochimaru laughed. "Sakura will be my most loyal subject; unlike you. You dear Sasuke-kun have became too much a liability to run around. Kabuto if you will."**

**The next thing that Sasuke knew his own world was growing dark. He thought that things could never get any worse than they were in that moment. He had failed Sakura. When she woke she would no longer be the girl that had managed to capture his feelings. She wouldn't even be the girl who had first come down here hating his guts. But worse was that right now there was nothing that he could do to help her. He was sure that things could not get any worse; in the months to come he would realize that he couldn't have been more wrong.**

**

* * *

**

"**We have to hurry," Naruto said to the small group that was currently racing through a forest of rocks.**

"**Something wrong," Kankuro asked?**

"**I think that there is," Naruto confirmed. "Sakura needs us now."**

**Kakashi had never given much weight to supposed premonitions, but he couldn't deny the chill that had went down his spine right before Naruto spoke up. Judging by the uncomfortable look on Sai's face he had felt it as well.**

'**Hold on Sakura, we are coming to you," he whispered in his mind hoping that somehow those words of comfort would reach her.**

**

* * *

**

**Three days give or take. That was how long Sasuke estimated that he had been locked in one of the cells in the lab. He had tried everything to get out of the damned place, but these cells had been built with holding shinobi in mind. Around him he could occasionally hear sounds coming from the other prisoners that were held here, but none of them so much as tried to speak to one another. **

**Finally when he had almost driven himself insane with worry the main door leading down the hall of cells opened allowing a little light to flood in. The next thing that he knew the torches that lined the hall surged to life and footsteps could be heard drawing closer. The person who stopped in front of his cell was not whom he had expected, but he had never been more grateful to see someone in his life.**

"**Sakura," he whispered almost like a prayer as he moved to the bars. **

"**Are you alright?"**

"**You have a lot of nerve asking me that Uchiha," she spat back at him.**

"**What are you talking about," he questioned?**

"**That should be obvious," a different voice replied. Orochimaru stepped out of the shadows and wrapped an arm around Sakura's shoulders. "You were put down here for assaulting her after all."**

"**You healed his arms," Sasuke said crossing his arms in front of his chest.**

"**Of course I did," she replied, "some of us are loyal to our Lord."**

"**He is not your Lord and I never assaulted you," Sasuke argued.**

"**Really now Sasuke you should be nicer to the lady. She did come down here to let you go after all," Orochimaru informed him.**

"**You did," Sasuke questioned looking into her eyes.**

"**Of course," she replied. "We can not allow the future vessel of Lord Orochimaru to rot down here. When it is time for the exchange it is vital that the container be healthy; we can't leave Lord Orochimaru in a weakened state."**

"**Which is why I have assigned Sakura here to be your keeper. She will be certain that you are in peak condition when the time comes," he told him as Sakura stepped into the cell and placed the cuffs that had once graced her arms onto his.**

"**Return to your quarters I will come for you in the morning," she told him before she turned and walked away without looking back.**

"**Welcome to hell Sasuke-kun," Orochimaru purred before leaving him alone.**

**It was then that Sasuke knew that things had become much worse than he could have ever imagined. **


	9. Chapter 9

It had been a week since they had partnered up with Kankuro and they were getting closer to their goal. If the rumors from the latest village that they had stopped in were to be believed then they were only about four days away from where Orochimaru's base should be. Everyone was on pins and needles waiting to see if this would all come to an end.

As Kakashi looked over their group he wondered if Sakura knew how much she had touched all the members of her team. He doubted very much that she did; Sakura was far to humble to admit that she had made a difference in any of their lives. But she had; she had accepted Naruto at a time when no one else would, she had put countless hours into patiently helping Sai discover who he was as a person, she had saved Kankuro and Gaara's lives causing the Kazekage to act compassionately, and as for him she had refused to allow his walls to stop her from touching his heart. As a result any one of them would gladly lay their lives down for her without hesitation, and it didn't stop there. If they were to fall in their quest there were countless others who would gladly pick up the torch. Countless others who had also been touched by their pink haired teammate.

They were all antsy though and it had nothing to do with how close they were to the battle that would no doubt be upon them any day now. No, it was because of the feeling that they had all shared a few days ago. None of them would admit it but since then they all felt as though every day that passed Sakura was falling further away from them. He prayed that by the time they reached her it would not be too late.

* * *

"There is a group of Leaf ninja a few days away," Kabuto reported.

"I am not surprised," Orochimaru responded. "How many are there?"

"If the reports are correct there seem to be three from Leaf and one from Sand," Kabuto informed him.

"Any clue as to who they are," Orochimaru inquired?

"It is supposedly the copy ninja, the nine tail's vessel, the artist, and the one from sand is supposed to be the Kazekage's brother," Kabuto supplied.

"Quite an impressive ensemble," Orochimaru hissed as he watched a figure slink out of the shadows; it was his cherry blossom.

"I will go handle them for you if you will allow it my Lord," she offered.

"That won't be necessary my pet," he told her.

He took a moment to look her over. It was rare to catch her out of the lab or the dojo, and he always took a moment to appreciate it when she was. He had decided after Kabuto had finished with her that the typical sound uniform did not suit her. He preferred to have both of his medics in black. So Kabuto had taken her into the nearest village and had some clothing made that was much more delightful.

She wore a black dangerously low cut top over black pants; both of which hugged her like a second skin. Her hair was in a high ponytail; over all she looked like a woman that Jirayiya would write about. He had even briefly wondered what kind of memories that Kabuto had instilled her with. It didn't matter the results were fantastic; he had even decided that once he had overthrown Konoha and taken the body of the Uchiha he would allow her to rule by his side.

"I think that I want to handle this particular group myself," he told her. "Tell me dear what brings you here?"

"I came to ask your permission to start tests of a more physical nature on the Uchiha," she told him as she went to stand by his side.

"Sakura I have told you before you are welcome to run whatever tests on whatever subject that you desire. You do not need to ask my permission every time," he didn't miss Kabuto's scowl or the victorious smirk that Sakura shot at the older medic.

He loved her sadistic side. Yes she would be perfect to rule along with him. Not to mention they would produce very powerful offspring with her genes combined with the Uchiha's, and if they weren't she was twisted enough to enhance them until they were.

"Kabuto you and I will leave now," he instructed. He began walking out of the room pausing for a moment to run his hand down Sakura's side. "Enjoy yourself my pet. Just be sure that his body is fit for me to take after the war."

With that said he leaned in and placed a kiss on her forehead. He would be sure to make this a quick trip he was eager to return to his pet's arms.

* * *

Kakashi was in the lead when he suddenly had to leap away from a rain of kunai. The others were quickly at his side ready for whatever they had to face. Or at least they thought they were ready until they saw that the one who had thrown the weapons at them was none other than Orochimaru. He had been healed. What did that say about Sakura's fate?

"What the hell have you done with Sakura," Naruto demanded?

"Well I have not done anything with her that she did not want me to," Orochimaru taunted.

"You sick son of a bitch," Naruto roared!

"We just want to get Sakura back," Kakashi tried to reason.

"We won't even try to retrieve Sasuke we just want to take her home."

"We would let you take him before we would give her to you," Kabuto said as he stepped from the bushes.

"She does not want to leave anyways," Orochimaru scoffed. "As we speak she is back at the base running tests on the Uchiha that would make Kabuto here cringe."

"I do not believe you," Sai spoke up.

"It really doesn't matter if you believe me or not. As you can see my lovely Sakura has healed me. Retrieving her has just become the least of your worries. Right now you should be running back to your Hokage to tell her that I am whole again and will not rest until Leaf falls. Feel privileged that I am allowing you to live to go tell your pathetic land that the next great ninja war is about to begin."

With that said Orochimaru and Kabuto both vanished in a poof of smoke.

"What are you guys waiting for," Naruto demanded? "We know that we are going to the right place now."

"The snake was right," Sai hung his head. "Our first priority must be to go warn the Hokage; it is what Sakura would wish us to do."

"Look," Naruto yelled! "Sakura healed his arms am I the only one who realizes that means something terrible happened to her. We have to go after her now. Did you guys not hear what he was implying he did to her? I know that Sakura would want us to go back, she always puts all of us before herself, but that is why it is our job to put her first. Because she sure as hell never will."

"We all heard Naruto," Kakashi growled out. "No one is saying that we abandon her rescue forever. It just has to be put on hold for now; the safety of Konoha is on the line. Come on double time on the way back."

"No," Naruto said in a voice that left no room for argument. "I am not worse than scum. The rest of you go make sure that Konoha is prepared I am going to bring Sakura back."

"Is that how you all feel," Kakashi asked. He had a stern look on his face, but in reality he had never been more proud of his team as he watched the young men nod their heads. "Fine I have to return to Konoha. I will allow you to carry out the remainder of the mission, but listen well Orochimaru has always been dangerous double so now that he has regained use of his arms. Under no circumstances are you to make a move unless Sakura can be retrieved without a conflict. That means it could take longer than you like, but it is the only way that I will allow you to stay behind."

"Alright," Naruto grumbled while Sai simply nodded his head.

"Good now at least you have the general location of the base sit on it until an opportunity presents itself. Kankuro you had better go and warn your brother as to what is going on," Kakashi said before he turned to smile at his team one last time before taking off into the trees.

"He is right I had better go warn Gaara, but I will be back try not to go and have all the fun before I get here," Kankuro gave them a mischievous grin.

"Right like Gaara is going to let you come back with all of this mess going on," Naruto sighed.

"Of course he will; in case you haven't noticed he is quite smitten by your teammate," Kankuro laughed. "I am sure he would be here himself if not for his job and all."

"You've got to be kidding me," Naruto sweat dropped.

"They would make a terrible couple," Sai said as they watched Kankuro's retreating back.

"You just say that because you have a crush on her looser," Naruto grumbled.

"Come on dickless it is time for us to get going," Sai said ignoring the blonde's comment.

* * *

"Did you miss me," Sakura asked as she stepped back into the lab?

"Hn," was Sasuke's reply. He didn't even look at her. He hated to see what they had turned her into; all because he had failed her.

Sakura was now the polar opposite of who she really was. Where she was naturally compassionate and kind this Sakura was calloused and did not care who she hurt. They had shared one tender moment with each other before they had got their hands on her, and now the only time that they spent with each other was for her to inflict pain on him in the name of her "experiments." He didn't care; he deserved every ounce of pain that she could possibly give him. She could literally take his life and it would still be his fault for making yet another promise that he couldn't keep. He sometimes wondered if he should have let her finish her suicide jutsu; he was sure that she would prefer death than the existence that was now her life. Her black boots came into view; another change that they had made. Kabuto now had her dressing like a whore.

"Are you ready," she asked as she opened the door?

"Does it matter," he shot back?

"No I suppose that it really doesn't," she smirked. "I need you to get on the table I am going to be studying your eyes today."

Sasuke obliged her and walked to the table obediently laying down for her; quickly she strapped down his wrists and ankles.

"To prevent you from moving and causing damage when things get uncomfortable," she explained.

"Whatever," he replied.

"Now I need you to keep your eyes open," she instructed and then she began. Instantly the agony started. She was slicing certain portions of his eye with her medical chakra before quickly healing it.

Sasuke didn't even flinch; he would not allow the new Sakura the sadistic pleasure of seeing him do so. Instead he allowed his mind to drift to a more pleasant time; the time that she had used her chakra to heal him. The first part of that secession, when she had removed the curse seal, had hurt. After that though when she had been using her healing powers to search out and cure the illness that had been inflicted on him had been nothing short of paradise. Her chakra had gently caressed and soothed his whole being, and he had never felt more linked to another person than he had then.

He briefly wondered if that was what it had been like for all of her patients. Had Naruto, Kakashi, and his replacement felt so close to the pink haired woman? For some reason he hoped not. He wanted that to be an experience that he alone had shared with her. He was so lost in his memories that he didn't realize that she was finished until he felt the straps being loosened from his wrists.

"You may return to your cell," she dismissed him. "No need to lock it I am going to see one more subject before I take you to the dojo for training."

She didn't even wait to see if he followed her instructions before she went to the door that led to the hallway of cells. From his vantage point of the holding cell within the lab he watched her glance at various charts before pulling a man out of one of the cells. The man did not seem very willing to comply, but her brute strength gave him no choice. She brought him in and after strapping him down began a process similar to that which she had performed on him. That was when trouble started.


	10. Chapter 10

Another round of these damn experiments was the last thing he wanted to undergo, but that was ok he had learned a lot during his "secessions". For instance when the bitch was working she was so lost in her thoughts that even Orochimaru himself walking into the room didn't faze her. Realizing that was what had started the forming of his plan, and today was the day that he was going to act on it.

Patiently he endured the damn pain until he could tell by the look on her face that she was enraptured in his torture. Careful to use slow steady movements he used the kunai that had carelessly been left on one of the other prisoners to cut through the strap across his wrist. Before the bitch had any time to realize that anything was happening he lashed out with it driving it deep into her side and twisting it sharply before pulling it out. Quickly he freed his other arm before beginning a series of hand seals, but he never got to finish them. Before he could blink there was a hand with an iron grip around his neck roughly pushing him down onto the table. He could register nothing but shock when he looked up and realized that it was the Uchiha.

"Why did you stop me I almost had the bitch?" He asked.

"You will not harm her," Sasuke hissed.

"You would protect Orochimaru's whore? We have all seen the things that she has done to you," the man spat out.

"You do not know her," Sasuke growled, "and you will not talk about her in such a way." Sasuke then turned his attention to Sakura who was allowing the blood to flow freely from her wound while she rummaged through a drawer. Finally she withdrew a new set of restraints and placed them on the man's wrists before turning a questioning look on Sasuke.

"Are you alright?" He asked her.

"I am fine," she replied waving off the question. "Why?"

"Why what?" Sasuke didn't understand her question.

"Why would you help me?" She seemed perplexed.

"I have told you before. Even if I tell you again you will not believe me," he sighed. "But I will tell you that I have vowed to protect you and that will not change."

Sakura did not reply only casting an uneasy glance in his direction before returning to her work. She was absorbed until the Uchiha's voice broke through her thoughts.

"What are you doing to him?" Sasuke asked her.

"I have studied you many times is a similar manner," she told him.

"Yes, but I assume that you are so fascinated with my eyes because of the sharingan," he replied.

"The sharingan is why I am interested in both of your eyes," she felt generous with her explanations since he had helped her earlier.

"What?" Sasuke whispered.

"After extensive studies on the chakra pathways to your eyes I believe that I can replicate it. I think that I can reproduce the sharingan in those not of the Uchiha bloodline," she nonchalantly said.

"Does Orochimaru know about this?" Sasuke felt unease rising within him.

"No," she responded. "Today is the first day that I am going to try my theory out. There is no need to bother Lord Orochimaru unless this is a success." That said she turned her attention back to her test subject.

"Direct chakra into your eyes, and do not consider not complying. If you do so I will make sure that this is a most unpleasant experience for you," she instructed.

The man complied and much to Sasuke's horror his eyes turned red and three spinning comma shaped designs appeared. Before he could even fully comprehend what was going on Sakura reached beneath the table and retrieved the kunai that had been dropped earlier. Without so much as blinking an eye she plunged it into the man's heart and watched him struggle for a second before blood ran from his mouth and it was over.

"Success," she declared as she turned away from the table, but a hand grabbing her wrists stopped her.

"Sakura you must not tell Orochimaru about this," Sasuke implored. If it were anyone else standing before him that had just managed to do what he would have thought impossible he would have killed them. But this was Sakura and that was simply not an option. All that he could do was hope that he could convince her to keep the information from dangerous hands.

"Are you really that concerned about others having your precious sharingan?" She asked.

"No, give it to yourself for all I care, but I beg you not to tell him. You have no idea what could happen if its power fell into the wrong hands," he passionately whispered.

"You do know that I did all of this to please my Lord, and my loyalties lay with him before all others," she told him. "Now let's go to the dojo."

* * *

Sakura had a lot on her mind as she made her way through the winding corroders on her way to the dojo prisoner in tow. Sasuke was a mystery to her. On more than one occasion she had seen him violently lash out at others including Orochimaru himself, but not once had he ever tried to cause her harm even though the amount of time they spent together undoubtedly left him many openings to do so. On top of that he had intervened on her behalf today even though she could have handled the situation herself. The way he had lashed out at his fellow prisoner for the things the man had said about her was not what one would suspect from your prisoner.

Combine that with the wild stories that Sasuke insisted on telling her of a past that didn't exist and she was starting to get a headache. She was glad that they were going to spar now she felt like that was exactly what she needed to clear her head. The Uchiha never ceased to amaze her when they sparred. Out of respect of the fact that he could not use chakra she in turn never used hers, and even without his chakra he always gave her a run for her money. Orochimaru could not have made a wiser choice for a new vessel.

"Are you sure you are up for this after your injury today?" Sasuke asked her.

"Do you doubt my healing abilities?" She quirked a brow.

"Well I don't exactly get to see them very often anymore," he mumbled though he knew that she heard him.

She chose not to acknowledge his remark about the past that he had fabricated and instead went to the weapons rack and chose a katana for both of them.

"Shall we?" She smirked as she tossed his weapon at him?

With that the dance that they preformed almost everyday began. They both exuded grace and power as they fought and the clash of two such great powers never failed to entrance Sakura. Orochimaru had been teaching her many things and for that she was grateful, but nothing made her blood rush like the matches with her current opponent.

"Too slow," Sasuke proclaimed as he landed behind her placing the dull side of the blade against her shoulder.

"Not a fatal wound," she declared as she dropped down and swept his feet from under him. Quickly she leapt out of his reach knowing that as soon as he regained his footing he would be on her again.

They were soon locked in combat again swords striking and kicks landing. After about half on hour of further sparring Sasuke saw his opportunity and drove her onto the mat instantly pouncing on top of her. He stared down at her panting for breath and looked into her deep green eyes that had once held such life, but were now so dulled that one would never believe that there had ever been anything there.

He wanted more than anything to bring that spark of life back; so without thinking he leaned down and claimed her lips. Her initial response was to tense, but like before it was not long before she was returning his ministrations in full. She ran her fingers through his hair and moaned; the parting of her lips allowing him entrance.

Unfortunately both of them were so lost in the moment that they failed to notice that they were no longer alone. They only realized it when Sasuke was violently ripped from her and thrown into the wall behind them.

"You dare to let him touch you," Orochimaru hissed as he pulled her to her feet by her hair.

"Forgive me my Lord," Sakura said too ashamed to look him in the eye. His reply was a slap hard enough to split her lip.

"I have told you that once I take his body you will be mine. Are you so attracted to that damn vessel that you just couldn't wait? I will have you before any other and I will be your last," Orochimaru punctuated his statement with another slap.

"It will not happen again my Lord," she assured.

"You are damn right it won't you whore," he growled. "I am going to make sure he will never want to touch you again."

"You keep your hands off of her," Sasuke roared as he rushed towards Orochimaru only to be stopped by a grave looking Kabuto.

"You caused this," he told him, "if not for your actions she would have never betrayed him. I am afraid that if you interfere he will only take it out on her."

Sasuke had never screamed so much in his life as he did when he was forced to witness what happened next. Orochimaru ruthlessly ripped Sakura's shirt open revealing her naked breasts to all three men in the room and ran his hand roughly over them.

"Who do you belong to?" Orochimaru hissed.

"You my Lord," Sakura replied her shame evident in her voice.

"Sakura," Sasuke growled "you do not belong to that bastard."

"Who do you desire?" Orochimaru purred.

"No one but you," Sakura whispered unable to keep the tremble from her reply.

Orochimaru then removed a kunai from his pouch and much to Sasuke's horror carved his name down Sakura's side. She didn't even flinch nor did she look at anyone in the room Sasuke knew that her humiliation was now complete. Orochimaru then threw her roughly to the ground.

"Do not heal it and never forget again who you belong to," he punctuated his statement with a kick to the spot where he had just branded her as his possession.

"The war starts now," Orochimaru declared as he flicked her blood from his kunai and turned to face the two men in the room. "Kabuto you are to stay and oversee things here I will be gathering the troops and leaving immediately. Be sure that my pet understands that I do not like having to resort to such punishments but her behavior was not acceptable."

"Yes Lord Orochimaru," Kabuto nodded his head and waited on Orochimaru to leave before he turned to Sasuke and spoke again. "You had better take her to her room."


	11. Chapter 11

Sasuke wasted no time ripping his shirt off and rushing to Sakura's side the minute that Kabuto had left the room; he wasn't sure why the medic had allowed him to stay with her, but he was grateful. He wrapped his shirt around her the best he could before picking her up and carrying her to her room. He laid her gently on her bed and went into the bathroom to get a wet cloth to wipe away the blood from her lips where Orochimaru had slapped her and to try to soothe the angry bleeding wounds that spelled out his name.

"Sakura," he whispered, "are you alright? Just say something."

It was useless she didn't speak a word to him as he cleaned the blood from her face. However when he touched the cloth to her side she reached up and grabbed his hand.

"I am a medic I can handle this," she said to him as she released his hand. He watched as she called her chakra to her hand and ran it across the lettering ceasing the flow of blood but not completely closing the wounds. "You can leave now."

"Not until I know that you are alright," he insisted.

"I am a shinobi," she declared. "As such I am nothing but a tool. My purpose is to serve my Lord. I betrayed him and the punishment was deserved. Now please just leave."

Sasuke stood to leave. It was obvious that she didn't want him here right now. She claimed to be alright, but the fact that her eyes were even more dead than before told him otherwise. With a heavy heart he added yet another mark to the list of ways that he had failed Sakura.

* * *

It was almost an entire week before Sasuke saw Sakura again. He had been in his holding cell in the lab worried sick about her when suddenly she walked through the door. She just waltzed in went to her desk in the corner and started reading through charts like it was just another normal day. Sasuke could not afford to let her avoid him though; there was something that he wanted her to do.

"Sakura have you informed Orochimaru about your research?" He inquired.

"No he is away readying his troops for the war and I have not spoke to him since his departure," she told him without giving him as much as a glance.

"Good," he sighed. "I want you to give yourself the sharingan, but don't tell a soul."

"I thought that you were obsessed with protecting your precious blood limit," she said finally setting down the chart that she had been reading to look at him.

"My only concern is with protecting you," he honestly replied. "You have studied it enough that I am sure you have a basic understanding of its workings. I know from watching you train with Orochimaru that you learn quickly so I will give you instruction on its proper use while we spar."

"Why Uchiha; why would you do this?" She whispered.

"Because I know that I am going to be gone when he returns, and I want to leave you with whatever protection I can offer," he explained. "Sakura he is evil no matter how much you try to deny it, and the thought of him using my body to hurt you is too much. I know that one day all of the memories that he had locked away will come back and when they do he will take pleasure in using my body to torture you. I know that you do not believe me but please grant me this much."

Sakura didn't respond. Instead she called her powers to her hands and pressed them to her eyes. Sasuke watched expectantly for several minutes before she finally lowered her hands. She opened her eyes to reveal their normal green. She smirked as she saw the disappointment on Sasuke's face.

"I suppose that you would rather see this," she sent chakra down the newly constructed pathways that led to her eyes. Pathways that were an exact replica of the ones in Sasuke's own. He had to admit that it was rather unsettling seeing the glowing red looking at him from her face, but it gave him comfort.

"This is rather remarkable," she told him as she looked at her surroundings with new eyes.

"Wait until you see what they can really do in a battle," Sasuke said in a slightly boastful manner. "There is however a disadvantage."

"What is it," Sakura asked allowing her eyes to return to their normal hue?

"Prolonged use leads to blindness," he informed her setting her medical mind into motion.

"Interesting," she told him. "Shall we go and test these out?"

* * *

Sasuke and Sakura spent the next several days in the dojo ensuring that she was proficient with the use of her sharingan. It was quite nice with Orochimaru still gone and Kabuto pouting somewhere it was almost like they had the entire base to themselves. One evening after they had finished sparring Sakura turned to face him.

"I want to look at your eyes again. How far advanced is your blindness?" She asked.

"Things are just slightly blurry; I am sure that it is much worse for Itachi and probably Kakashi as well," he told her. "Why do you want to heal them?"

"Of course I do," she scoffed. "It would not do to have Orochimaru become blind."

"Hn," he should have known.

"So let's go to the lab. I have examined your eyes enough in the past to know that I can not see any damage in their normal state so I am going to have to take a look at them with the sharingan activated," she said.

The slight feeling of disappointment that he had felt at her explanation of why she wished to heal him vanished instantly replaced by exhilaration. When this nightmare had started Sasuke had began formulating a plan and Sakura was about to give him the chance to set it into motion. He knew that if it failed then any trust that he had managed to build with this new creature that was Sakura would vanish, but he also realized that it was the only hope of saving the old Sakura. With all of his years of experience in schooling his emotions he had no problem keeping them well hidden as he dutifully followed Sakura to the lab.

"Alright," Sakura said as she gestured for him to take his usual seat on the table. She started to remove his cuffs, but paused and looked into his eyes. "You aren't going to attack me when I take these off are you?"

"Trust me Sakura I would never hurt you," he assured. He could not technically say that he was not going to attack her but he would not hurt her.

"Alright," she said as she removed his cuffs and had him lay down not even bothering to place the restraints on him. "Activate your sharingan now."

Gladly he complied. Sakura was now staring into the depths of his most powerful weapon. Even with all of the training that he had given her to ensure that she was proficient enough in the use of her own she did not stand a chance once he drew her in.

* * *

The next thing Sakura knew she was in a dream world created by Sasuke. She whirled around and had no problem locating him calmly leaning against the railing of a bridge.

"What have you done?" She demanded.

"This is where it all began," Sasuke told her ignoring her question. "This was the bridge that I took to leave Konoha to seek my vengeance. I know that you don't remember, but I have replayed this night countless times in the past. You see it would seem that even back then you knew me better than anyone else. You somehow knew that I was going to leave and you were the only one who came to stop me. It was that night that you told me you loved me."

He allowed Sakura to watch his memories play through his own mind.

"The next part of your life I do not know much about as I was here and you were training under Lady Tsunade; she is the only one who could teach you to use your monstrous punches. The two of you are the only ones alive who possess that skill," he informed her. "I do have a few recollections of you from that time," he allowed her to witness the memories that he did have not even hiding the parts that painted him in an unpleasant light.

"Through your training with Orochimaru I know that you can now perform the chidori. That was a move taught to both of us by Kakashi-sensei. He didn't teach it to you until after I left, but I know that it was him because the three of us are the only ones able to use that particular jutsu," he played a memory of their silver haired sensei performing his signature move around them.

"You are not who you think you are. The person that you are was stolen from you by Orochimaru; because I failed you," he let those images dance around them. "Come back Sakura the dobe needs you, Konoha needs you, and I need you."

Sakura had been transfixed watching all of Sasuke's recollections as he revealed them, but finally she turned to face him.

"You said thank you," her voice cracked. "I told you that I loved you and all that you said was thank you."

With that she lost consciousness, but Sasuke was there to catch her when she fell. He stood up and put her in his place on the table waiting patiently for her to awaken so that he could see which Sakura he would be faced with.

* * *

"Sasuke," Sakura whispered as she cracked open her eyes. Sasuke was a little alarmed by the fragile tone in her voice; it was something that he had not heard since they were twelve years old.

"Sakura is it you; are you alright?" He asked reaching out and taking her hand.

"It is me," she confirmed though she jerked her hand out of his, "but don't touch me."

"Why Sakura, why can't I touch you?" He wanted to know.

"Because I know that I used to be the girl that you showed me," she told him. "I can remember it all even the things that you never saw, but I am not her anymore. I haven't been for a long time and in the time that I spent here whatever may have remained of her was lost. Sasuke the Sakura that you knew is dead, and I can never be her again. My hands are too tainted by innocent blood and other things."

"Sakura," he began to argue but she quickly cut him off.

"No Sasuke, not right now. I have more important things to worry about right now. For the time being there is lots of not so innocent blood that I need to spill," she swung her feet off of the table and stood up. "You coming?"


	12. Chapter 12

Sasuke followed Sakura down the halls happy that she was herself again, but unhappy that she had referred to herself as tainted. He knew what she meant after all he had witnessed her take the lives of at least thirty of her experiments and torture countless others; not to mention her vague reference of what Orochimaru had done to her. But he knew for a fact that she had not done any of it willingly. She had tried to kill herself out of fear of what they would make her do. He didn't even have that excuse and she seemed to have forgiven him. Did she not think that he would do the same for her?

Right now though she would not talk about it. He knew the look on her face, he had worn it for most of his life, and Sakura was out for vengeance. He was simply glad that he was not the one about to be on the receiving end of the kunochi's wrath. He watched as she suddenly slammed a door off of its hinges having sensed her prey within.

"Kabuto," she hissed at the medic. "How dare you?"

"Sakura-chan," Kabuto stood up and walked around the desk that he had been setting behind, "I am sure that we can talk about this like rational people."

Quicker than Sasuke could track without his sharingan she was on him. She delivered a punch with carefully measured strength; it seemed that she had used just enough power to crush his wind pipe. She knelt over the man and held his hands so that he would not be able to heal himself. Sasuke was unsettled by the fact that she was obviously taking great pleasure out of watching the man struggle for breath. Perhaps more of the old Sakura than he would like to think really was gone.

"This Kabuto-kun is the only rational thing that I can think to do at the moment," she hissed and held on to his hands until she was sure that he would not be able to revive himself. Finally she turned to face Sasuke again. "Are you going to return to Konoha with me to take down that damn snake now?"

"Followed by the council," Sasuke confirmed.

"Great," she gave him a smile that didn't reach her eyes, "let's go and finish this."

* * *

"Man all we have been doing for days is just setting here. Stupid Kakashi sensei and his damn orders," Naruto grumbled kicking a rock. None of them knew that Orochimaru left before they had ever even made it there.

"Well it has been a few days," Kankuro who had returned that morning told him. "I can't quite remember what his order was."

"Idiot," Naruto barked. "He said we couldn't go in until we were sure that we wouldn't have to fight Orochimaru."

"You call me an idiot," Kankuro scoffed. "I am just saying that if we act like we forgot the order then we can just go in there."

"Excuse me," Sai interrupted.

"Shut up," was the reply he received from both of his teammates.

"If you two would just," he began only to be rudely interrupted again. If that was the way they wanted it then fine he decided as he stood up and began to walk away.

"Hey where are you going?" Naruto asked.

"Well dickless, I have been trying to tell you that Sakura just emerged from the compound with the traitor so I was going to meet them," Sai gave him a fake smile. He assumed when this mission started that when he saw Sakura his smile would be genuine, but he had seen how close she was walking with the Uchiha and did not miss a look that passed between them. While he was happy he could not help but feel what Sakura had once explained to him was regret. His friend was now coming back, but he was certain now that there could never be anything more than just that. However she was his best friend and the Uchiha would at least never be able to change that.

"Why didn't you say so?" Naruto yelled. Quickly he took off running in the direction of the entrance of Orochimaru's lair.

* * *

"The dobe is here," Sasuke droned as they continued walking.

"I know," Sakura replied, "he will catch us no need to stop." What she heard next though did make her stop.

"Sasuke you bastard let Sakura go," Naruto roared as he came rushing through the bushes building a Rasengan in his hand as he ran.

"Naruto," Sakura sweat dropped as she stepped in between her two teammates. "Sasuke didn't do anything to me. He was going back to Konoha with me to kill Orochimaru."

"Really," Naruto sounded stunned. When he received a nod from her he ran and gathered her into a bone crushing hug. Sasuke saw her go stiff as a board and was about to come to her rescue.

"Dickless I believe that she is having problems breathing," Sai said before Sasuke had a chance to. He didn't like how perceptive his replacement seemed to be when it came to Sakura.

"It is good to see you all too, but we have to go. Orochimaru is almost certainly in Konoha by now and who knows how much damage that he has already done," Sakura said as she reached into her pouch and pulled out a soldier pill for all present. "Kankuro it is good to see you thank you for coming, but you should go and inform Gaara of what is going on. If Konoha falls Orochimaru will head for Sand be prepared I will be sure that you receive a message either way."

"Damn does she fill in for Kakashi when he can't be team leader?" Kankuro smiled.

"Actually she does," Sai told him with a smile of his own.

"Alright double time back to Konoha," Sakura called out as she took off into the trees Sasuke quickly on her trail.

"How do you think she managed to get him to return to Konoha with her?" Sai asked.

"I have no idea," Naruto replied, "but you better believe that I am going to find out."

* * *

They had traveled for days without any rest popping Sakura's solider pills when they grew weary. Finally the pink haired woman stopped on a branch in front of them.

"We will stop here," she said, "tomorrow we should reach the village, and we will need our rest. You guys eat and get some sleep I'll take first watch." She didn't wait to hear any of their arguments before jumping into a tree near the edge of their camp.

"How did she get you to come with her?" Naruto asked Sasuke after she left.

"She asked," Sasuke replied causing Naruto to sweat drop.

"What do you mean she asked?" Naruto grumbled. "Do you know how many times I asked you to come back?"

"Hn," Sasuke replied.

"What was done to Sakura," Sai asked?

"Ask her," Sasuke glared at the dark haired man.

"I would rather not drag up any unpleasant memories for her," Sai gave him one of the fakest smiles that he had ever given. "That is why I asked for you to explain, but it really doesn't matter. The whole reason that I asked you was so that I could inform you that if I found out that you in any way hurt her while she was there I will kill you."

Sasuke growled in the other man's direction before jumping into the trees to locate Sakura. Once he had found her he set as close as he could to her without actually touching.

"Not enjoying the company?" Sakura asked him.

"We should simply leave them," he told her, "they are annoying and will only be a burden."

"They are annoying," she agreed, "that was why I took first watch, but they won't be a burden. They are both very skilled shinobi I couldn't ask for a better team."

"What is going on with you and my replacement?" He asked her.

"Sai has been a good friend to me," she sighed. "Almost everyone who you once knew is in a relationship so anytime that I needed a date Sai was there for me."

"So you are in a relationship with him," Sasuke sounded guarded.

"No," she said. "Listen if I had been in a relationship with Sai don't you think that I would have had a kiss before your's? I didn't have time for a relationship between training and work and that hasn't changed. There was no time then and there will not be any time now."

"I seem to recall you saying that you wanted to train with me," he whispered.

"That was before everything became so confusing Sasuke. Now just be quiet or I am going to kick you out of my tree," she looked serious.

"Fine," he relented, "but sleep Sakura you have pushed yourself harder than any of us. I will take first watch and wake you in a few hours." He was relieved that she nodded her head and settled in for a rest that he knew she needed.

"Did you see that?" Naruto whispered to Sai. "He just talked more to her in one conversation than I have ever seen him talk in his whole life."

"She is easy to talk to," Sai concluded as he lay on his bed roll to catch what sleep he could before they headed out.

* * *

Sakura woke to the rays of the early morning sun.

"You were supposed to wake me up," she scolded Sasuke as she jumped down from the tree.

"Don't worry about it Sakura-chan," Naruto told her once she landed. "We split up the watch so that you could catch some extra sleep."

"What is the plan once we reach the village?" Sai questioned.

"I am going after Orochimaru, Sasuke can watch my back to make sure that there is no interference in the fight, and the two of you should head straight for Kakashi and find out where he needs you," Sakura instructed.

"You will not face him alone," Sasuke piped up.

"I will," she replied.

"You should allow me to fight him with you," Sasuke insisted.

"I am more qualified than anyone here to fight him," Sakura snapped back, "I am the only one of us that has trained under two sannin."

"Hold on a minute," Naruto barked. "Did you say you have trained under two sannin?"

"It is a long story," Sakura sighed, "but yes I trained under Orochimaru while I was with him. I will try to tell you all about it eventually."

"Fine," Naruto relented, "but Sasuke you had better be sure not to let Kabuto interfere. He can be a real pain in the ass."

"I killed him already," Sakura told him. "Now let's head out we should reach Konoha by noon."


	13. Chapter 13

Things in Konoha were not going well. Orochimaru and his army had caused a lot of destruction and many lives had already been lost. Thankfully Kakashi's early warning had given them time to safely get the civilians evacuated before the war began. Right now Kakashi was feeling especially disheartened he had still heard no word from his team, and now he had to leave the front lines to take an injured Genma to the hospital.

Halfway there he heard a sound that caused him to stop and hand Genma off to the nearest able bodied person to carry the rest of the way. As soon as that was done Kakashi took off at full speed for the gates. He knew that Tsunade had gone to the hospital so there was only one other person who could have possibly caused that sound. Before he reached his destination his suspicion was confirmed.

"Hey Kakashi-sensei," Naruto yelled!

"Naruto," Kakashi called out. "Was that what I think it was?"

"Probably," Naruto confirmed.

"Where is she?" Kakashi looked around them.

"We left her back at the gate fighting Orochimaru," Naruto explained. "She wanted us to come straight to you."

"You left her alone fighting Orochimaru?" Kakashi exclaimed!

"Of course not," Sai replied. "The traitor is with her."

Kakashi's visible eye widened and he was off in a sprint for the gate. Surely he had heard them wrong. Could it be true that Sakura was back and had some how brought Sasuke with her?

* * *

"Come now my pet I am sure we can work this out," Orochimaru purred to the enraged kunoichi before him.

"Don't call me your pet," Sakura punctuated her statement by slamming her fist into the ground and causing a crater to rush straight for him swallowing up his minions that had been foolish enough to gather between them. It was the same method that she had used to vanquish his summons.

Orochimaru knew that this situation had the potential to go badly, but the arrival of her teammates gave him an idea. When in doubt that you can beat an opponent physically one just had to first break them mentally.

"Come now my love," he said loud enough for all present to hear. "Let's not fight. You have no idea how eager I am to finish this war so that I could hurry back to be in your arms again."

"Enough," Sasuke spat at the snake. Sakura noticed the arrival of her team and saw the moment that realization dawned on their faces. Now her humiliation was complete.

"Chidori," she heard yelled out by Kakashi who was rushing towards Orochimaru in a blind rage. It was then that she noticed that Orochimaru began going through a series of hand seals. Without a second thought she jumped between them.

"Wait," she weakly said "we can work this out."

"I hoped that you would see things my way," Orochimaru grinned. "Now come to my side and we will crush this useless village together. When we rebuild it you will rule at my side."

"Yes Lord Orochimaru," Sakura said walking towards the snake against the loud protests of her friends. Stopping before the snake she looked up at him. "Shall we seal the deal with a kiss?"

"That would crush your friends," Orochimaru laughed.

"They need to learn their place," she told him hoping that her friends would hold off just long enough for her to carry through with her plan. She allowed the snake to pull her so close that her body was crushed against his. With great effort she pushed down her disgust as he pushed his tongue into her mouth. When he was far enough lost in the kiss she called forth her secret weapon.

"How?" Orochimaru asked when he pulled away and looked into her eyes. That was all he had time to say before he was frozen; unable to fight against her sharingan.

Thankfully Sasuke saw what was going on and quickly produced his Chidori. It didn't take long for Kakashi to follow suit, Naruto and Sai joined in calling forth their Rasengan and one of the strongest tigers that Sai had ever produced. In the end not even one of the legendary sannin could stand against a complete Team Kakashi.

"Sakura-chan are you ok?" Naruto asked.

"Don't let them escape," Sakura called out ignoring Naruto, and turning her intention instead to the retreating Sound nin.

Though Kakashi was just as concerned as Naruto he dutifully followed Sakura into battle. They were in a war after all, but when all of this was finished he had some questions that he wanted answered. He engaged in his own battles though he kept a close eye on his favorite student. He must say he was impressed her speed which had already been impressive had improved; she must have been training with Sasuke. She also had a few impressive new jutsu, but who knew whether that was from training with Orochimaru or from the sharingan that she had somehow acquired.

However there were other changes that Kakashi was not too fond of. Sakura had always been willing to fight like a wildcat for her loved ones, but the way she was fighting today was different. Gone was any compassion that she may have once shown to her enemies. There was a time when Sakura may have settled for sending an opponent through a few trees allowing them to fall unconscious and moving on to the next. Today however he had witnessed her thrust her katana hilt deep into one sound nin's chest while sending a kunai flying into the neck of another; neither of them stood a chance of living. He noted the fact that she had blood spattered over her arms and part of her face; none of it was hers. Finally the battle was over and Konoha was no longer in danger. Kakashi started to make his way to Sakura, but she took off in a blur headed for the village.

* * *

"Where are you headed in such a hurry?" Kakashi asked once he had caught up with her.

"The hospital, I am sure that there is a lot of work there," she replied.

"Sakura," he sighed. "You just returned from a long imprisonment by Konoha's number one enemy, took down a sannin, and put an end to a war. I am sure that everyone would forgive you if you took a little break. Your chakra must be low after all of this anyways."

"That is why these were invented," she told him as she popped a solider pill. "Besides you forgot the part where I restored the use of Orochimaru's arms allowing him to almost decimate Konoha. I have no time to rest until all of this is over."

"Sakura," he reached out and grabbed her arm jerking her to a halt. "No one blames you for any of this."

"No one but me," she viscously shot back at him. Kakashi was about to try to further reason with her when a voice interrupted.

"Let her go," Sasuke spoke up from behind them. Kakashi let her arm go and she gave Sasuke a grateful glance. "I will wait for you at the Uchiha complex. Come when you have finished at the hospital."

"That was just great Sasuke," Kakashi hissed at him. "You haven't even been around her for years and you are going to presume that you know what is best for her? Right now she is hurting and blaming herself for things that are not her fault."

"And nothing you say will change that," Sasuke told him. "If you want what is best for Sakura then you will give her time alone, and keep the rest of your idiotic team away from her as well."

"We have always been there for her," Kakashi grabbed the younger man's collar and jerked him roughly towards him. "How dare you try to come and tell me what is best for her now?"

"The Sakura that left here was crushed by Orochimaru," Sasuke told him. "I am perhaps the only one here who could possibly hope to understand that."

"Last time that you were around you threw her away like a piece of trash when you decided to leave," Kakashi had yet to relinquish his hold on him. "If you decide to hurt her again I will personally track you down, and it won't be to try to bring you home."

"Hn," Sasuke pulled himself free and began making his way to his former home. He sure as hell didn't need anyone telling him how to take care of Sakura.

* * *

The hospital was hectic just as Sakura knew that it would be, but it took her no time at all to locate Tsunade after she had entered. She learned long ago that when looking for her mentor you just had to go in the direction of the loudest yelling. Sure enough her method didn't fail her this time either. When she pushed open the door to the room that Tsunade was in she found her mending together a badly injured Genma while barking out orders to the nurses.

"Can I assist," Sakura asked stepping fully through the door. Tsunade's head shot up at the sound of her apprentice's voice and she momentarily stopped what she was doing. Sakura would swear that she saw tears gather into Tsunade's eyes.

"Scrub in," Tsunade finally seemed to snap to. Within just a few minutes Sakura was at her side and working with her to restore Genma's broken body.

"You had to have come through the village," Tsunade finally broke the silence. "How are things out there I haven't had word in over half an hour?"

"It is over," Sakura answered. "Orochimaru is dead and his army has been driven back. Most of them are dead as well, and I don't really think that they will be coming back."

"Were you part of the battle?" Tsunade asked her.

"I was there," Sakura didn't look up from her healing. "Team Kakashi, including Sasuke, took down Orochimaru."

"Do you need to rest?" Tsunade asked her.

She watched as her apprentice simply shook her head and continued healing. She knew that her student was lying, but she also recognized the haunted look in the girl's eyes. It was a look that she herself had worn for most of her life. Right now even though she knew that Sakura needed to rest; she needed this more. She hoped that whatever lives Sakura saved today were enough to help to drive back the darkness that she had apparently been through. From experience Tsunade knew that it wouldn't be though. Unfortunately Sakura was going to have to learn to live with her demons.


	14. Chapter 14

It was after one o'clock in the morning before made her way to the gates of the Uchiha compound. She figured that Sasuke was sleeping but she had agreed to come here after she left the hospital. She had actually only stepped foot into the compound once before and that had been during broad daylight when she was twelve years old. Now walking through the deserted streets in the middle of the night Sakura could almost feel the ghosts of the past. She hurried her pace and was soon at the door that belonged to Sasuke. She was about to knock when the door opened.

"You were gone a long time," Sasuke said as he motioned for her to come in.

"Well there were a lot of injuries," Sakura explained as she took off her shoes.

"Hn," he replied. "I made instant ramen. It was the only thing that I could get my hands on."

"You had me come over so that you could feed me?" Sakura quirked a brow.

"If someone didn't feed you, you would just pop another damn solider pill and keep going for another twelve hours," he admonished as he walked into the kitchen.

"Alright," she conceded, "I will just eat and go home for a nice shower."

"You are staying here," he told her.

"Look Sasuke," she said over her bowl of ramen, "it is nice of you to want to take care of me, but I don't think that I should stay here."

"Have you been by your house?" He asked.

"No not yet," she said.

"Your building, unless the dobe was wrong about where you live was destroyed. It is either stay here or stay on the streets," he informed her.

"Shit," she hissed. "I don't think that I even have a change of clothes. I doubt that any of the shops will be open for quite a while."

"I have taken care of it," Sasuke assured her as they finished their small dinner. "Follow me."

Sakura followed him down the hall taking note of the layer of dust that had settled over what looked to have once been a very beautiful home. Somehow seeing that made her sadder than the thought of her own home lying in ruins. At least her home had always been full of life. She could almost picture a young Sasuke trying to care for this huge house all alone. If she thought that she could she would have cried for him. Finally Sasuke stopped in front of a door.

"This was a guest room. My own room is just across the hall," he explained.

He then opened the door for her. Sakura could instantly tell that he had cleaned the room for her. The dust that was present through the rest of the house was no where to be found in here. What caught her attention most of all though was the fighting kimono laying in the middle of the bed. It was a deep navy blue and would come down to her knees. Naturally it had high slits going up its sides but it had a pair of shorts to go under it. The most prominent feature of the beautiful ensemble was the Uchiha clan emblem displayed prominently on its back. Apparently Sasuke could see the question in her eyes.

"Mother was a kunoichi before she decided to give up her career once she had children. There are more than enough of her kimonos remaining to last you a life time," he told her.

"Sasuke I can't take your mother's things," she argued. "Not to mention I am sure that you don't want me running around wearing your clan's crest."

"I think that you know me well enough to realize that I would not offer you her things unless I wanted you to have them," he smirked. "So far as you wearing the mark of my clan; well you are the only woman that I would allow to do so."

"Thank you," she whispered. Sasuke could have taken that conversation further, she knew, but he respected the fact that she wasn't ready to.

"Your bath is through that door," he told her. "I know that you will not sleep well, but I expect you to be here in the morning so that we can go to the Hokage's tower together."

"I will be here," she assured him before he crossed the hall and entered his own room.

* * *

The next morning as promised Sakura was in the kitchen when he came down. Apparently she had left the house at some point and managed to find a vendor who was open for business. At the moment she was standing over the stove waiting for water to boil for the tea that she had purchased. He took his time appreciating the way she looked with his crest on her back; it was a sight that he could grow used to. He had after all meant what he had said to her when he told her that he wanted her by his side. He was just uncertain if she felt the same after all that had transpired. It did not matter. If Sakura could not be all that he wished for her to be then he would simply take whatever she could offer.

"Are you going to stand there all day or would you like some tea?" Sakura asked breaking his momentary trance.

"Hn," he replied not wanting to give away his thoughts. He refused to allow his desires to cause her discomfort.

"Don't tell me that we are back to that," she huffed as she set the two glasses she had prepared onto the table.

"I am not a morning person," he told her.

"I managed to find a villager who sold me this tea and some fruit," she smiled. "What kind of fruit would you like?"

"Anything that you have is fine," he assured her. "You did not have to go through any trouble on my account."

"Right," she said, "like it was no trouble for you to clean out a room for me and find me clothes to wear."

"They suit you," he replied as someone knocked on the door. "I will get it you continue eating."

Sasuke went to the door slightly annoyed that someone had stepped foot into the compound without his given permission. He was not surprised in the least when he opened the door and saw his old team and his replacement standing there.

"Hey have you seen Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked. "My apartment was damaged too so I crashed at Sai's I figured that she would show up but she never did."

"Yes," Sasuke answered after Naruto had finished his blabbing.

"Yes what?" Naruto questioned.

"Yes he has seen me," Sakura said as she walked into the entry way.

"You stayed here?" Naruto couldn't help but exclaim. "Sasuke never let me stay over."

"Because you are annoying," Sasuke supplied.

"I got some fruit this morning," Sakura cut in before the argument began. "I will go get some for you guys." She didn't want to over step Sasuke by actually inviting them in.

"They can come in if you want them to," Sasuke told her.

"Oh," Sakura was surprised. She was also a little nervous that her friends would start asking questions that she didn't really want to answer, but a very brief reassuring squeeze on the arm from Sasuke had her grounded again. "Of course you guys come on in I will just go and get some extra places set."

None of them failed to notice the Uchiha clan crest on her back when she turned away. Kakashi was not too pleased by it. Sakura may trust Sasuke, but even though he was glad to have the young man back in Konoha he did not trust him with his medic. Sai was also not pleased though he could not quite identify the feeling that was coursing through him at the sight of it. He made a note to try to find a book on it when the library reopened. Naruto of course was the one who decided to speak up.

"What the hell did you do to Sakura-chan?" The blonde loudly blurted. "She slept at your house and now she is wearing your family's clothes." The last part was said as they walked into the kitchen where Sakura was getting down plates and teacups for them all.

"Hn," Sasuke scoffed, "it is none of your business."

"The hell its not," Naruto exclaimed! "If you laid one hand on her."

Naruto didn't have the chance to finish his rant. The kitchen suddenly grew very quiet when the cup that Sakura was holding suddenly was crushed in her hand deeply embedding it with sharp shards of glass.

"If you all must know," she wheeled on them ignoring the blood that was running down her hand. "What Sasuke did was feed me so that I wouldn't keep living off of solider pills, give me a place to sleep so that I didn't have to spend the night on the streets, and he was kind enough to give me his mother's clothes so that I didn't have to continue wearing Orochimaru's damn dominatrix fetish outfit."

Her teammates all set there with stunned looks on their faces not knowing what to say to the woman who was still giving them a glare that would have sent lesser men running in fear. Finally Sasuke rose from his seat and walked over to her.

"You are bleeding," he told her. She seemed to just then register that she was getting blood on his floor.

"Sorry," she said grabbing a rag from the counter to keep the blood from making any more of a mess.

"It is not your fault," he assured her. "Come I will help you remove the glass."

"I am a medic I can handle it," she argued but at his insistent look she gave in and started walking down the hall. Sasuke paused and looked back at the others.

"Serve yourselves we will return," he told them.

* * *

"Naruto is an idiot," Sasuke told Sakura as he knelt before her plucking the jagged shards from her hand.

"I know," she sighed not looking him in the eye.

"They do not understand," he went on. "They never will understand. Orochimaru was evil and thanks to you no one else will ever be able to understand. Sakura you did what I failed to do; what many others failed to do. You ensured that all of your friends setting at that table will never have to understand the depths of such evil."

"Really?" She asked. "I stopped Orochimaru, but there will be plenty of others there to take his place. This world is never going to know peace. What do you propose we do when the next mad man takes his place?"

"I propose that we do just what we did this time," he said. "We stand together and we overcome it."

Sakura gave him a weak nod, but at the moment she was unsure if she could stand against anymore darkness. Most especially the darkness that had formed in her own heart.


	15. Chapter 15

The team made its way in awkward silence towards the Hokage's tower. Finally the tension became too much for even Sai.

"Sakura-chan," he began, "where are you going to stay until your building can be repaired?"

"I haven't given it much thought," she honestly answered.

"Well you know I have a spare room at my place," Kakashi said surprising them all. "It wouldn't be any trouble if you wanted to stay with me."

"Sakura will continue to stay with me," Sasuke didn't even give her time to respond. The bad part was that she felt relieved that he had declined for her.

"I think that Sakura can choose for herself where she stays," Naruto growled.

"Naruto it is ok," Sakura assured him. "I am already settled in at Sasuke's. Besides I would probably have to wade through porn at Kakashi-sensei's house."

"I am offended," Kakashi feigned hurt as they reached the door to Tsunade's office. "I keep all of my porn locked securely in my bedroom."

Sakura couldn't hold back a smile as she knocked on Tsunade's door.

"I am glad that you are all here," Tsunade told them with a serious look on her face. "I have just received the list of those lost during the war."

Kakashi reached out a hand and gingerly took the list. He looked through it sad to see that he knew many of the names. Perhaps what was worse was the long list of names that he had never heard; they had to be either civilians or very young ninja who had never stood a chance. He then watched in apprehension as Sakura reached to take the list when he was finished with it. He had no doubt that she would blame herself for every name that had found its way onto it. Some of them were sure to weigh heavy on her heart.

"Now Uchiha," Tsunade turned her attention to him. "What were your intentions in returning to Konoha?"

"I returned to bring Sakura back and to help her defeat Orochimaru," he told her. "My future intentions are best not discussed with all present."

"Very well," Tsunade nodded her head. "Team 7 you are dismissed. There is lots of work to do out there so go help someone rebuild something. Oh, by the way the memorial service for the fallen will be tomorrow at three."

The team stopped at the door for a moment when they realized that Sakura was not following them.

"I am staying," Sakura said.

"Alright," Tsunade allowed waving a dismissive hand at the rest of them. Once the door was closed she spoke again. "Alright spill it Uchiha."

"I told him about everything that we discovered," Sakura answered instead.

"I see," Tsunade sighed.

"My goal remains the same," Sasuke interjected. "I want vengeance for my people."

"I understand," Tsunade told him. "However Konoha has been through a lot. I won't have you running around the village to exact your revenge right now. If I allow you to stay I want your word that you will hold off until I tell you. I insist that the council members be dealt with through the law; however Danzo can be dealt with as you see fit."

"If you allow him to stay?" Sakura asked.

"Yes," Tsunade confirmed, "I said if. Sasuke abandoned the village and worked for Orochimaru causing who knows how much damage that we weren't even aware of. I am not sure yet how I am going to deal with him. For now I don't want you to step foot outside of this village Uchiha."

"Lady Tsunade with all due respect," Sakura began. "If Sasuke is not allowed to remain a leaf shinobi neither will I. Sasuke was held as a prisoner for a large portion of his time there. Most of the time he was not even allowed out of the base. On the other hand during the time that I was there I healed Orichimaru's arms allowing him to almost destroy Konoha."

"You may leave," Tsunade told Sasuke. "I need to speak to my apprentice."

Grudgingly Sasuke exited not sure that he liked where the conversation of the two women would go.

"Sakura," Tsunade sighed. "No one thinks that you would willingly betray the village. During your career as a kunoichi you have never shown anything but the deepest devotion to the village and its people. If I were to go by the guidelines for this situation you know that I should have you briefed by Ibiki, but I am not going to. Tell me what happened."

"I suppose that the guys told you how I came to be captured," Sakura began keeping her eyes trained on the floor. "I refused to heal him at first and was subjected to various forms of torture for doing so. I had the chance during one fight with them to bring down the whole base, and I would have gladly done so had I not realized that something was wrong with Sasuke. I let the opportunity pass."

"I am glad that you did," Tsunade interrupted. "If you had imploded one of Orochimaru's underground lairs you would have had no hope of escape."

"After that," Sakura went on, "I discovered the source of Sasuke's problem and conned Orochimaru into having my chakra restraining cuffs removed. I healed Sasuke and he and I were going to devise a plan to kill Orochimaru. We didn't have a chance. Kabuto used a drug that caused amnesia on me and replaced my memories with false ones. After which I became a loyal subject to Orochimaru. I healed his arms and began running cruel experiments on his prisoners including Sasuke. My main goal was to ensure Sasuke's body was perfect for transfer, but I also ran other experiments on him one of which allowed me to learn to create a sharingan in one not of Uchiha blood."

"Does anyone else know of this?" Tsunade gasped.

"Only Sasuke," Sakura told her. "I killed the only successful test subject. It was during this time that I angered Orochimaru and as punishment he marked me. After that Sasuke insisted that I replicate the sharingan on myself. I did so and during a subsequent study on Sasuke's eyes he trapped me in an illusion. He revealed my former life to me and I remembered it all. That was when we returned to Konoha and were able to defeat Orochimaru through a combined effort."

"Oh Sakura," Tsunade could see the raw pain that the girl was keeping hidden from the others. "It is over now and we will all be here for you; I will be here for you."

"It is never over sensei," Sakura said with conviction in her voice. "Orochimaru is gone but I am sure that there are a hundred other mad men lining up to take his place. I helped him and I failed all of them every name on this list is there because of me." Sakura held the list that Kakashi had reluctantly given her so tight that her knuckles turned white.

"Sakura you can't carry the weight of the world on your shoulders," Tsunade could see so much of her young self in her apprentice.

"How do you deal with it?" Sakura sounded weary.

"You handle it the best you can Sakura," Tsunade whispered. "The pain never vanishes, but you learn to push it aside so that you can protect the ones that you have left."

"I want to leave," Sakura confided to her.

Tsunade was at a loss for words. She had been in Sakura's shoes and she had run. It didn't do anyone any damn good and she knew it, but Sakura wouldn't know unless she found out on her own.

"Will you stay for the memorial service?" Tsunade relented.

"Yes," Sakura nodded.

"What about your team, will you tell them?" Tsunade inquired.

"I think that I will leave them all a letter. I just don't want to have to go over all of this again," she told her.

"Fine then, but you come back here as soon as you have sorted everything out," Tsunade insisted. "You have a lot of people here who love you."

With that Sakura gave her teacher a hug and walked out of the office. Before the door closed Shizune stepped into the office.

"You are letting her leave?" Shizune asked with a concerned look on her face.

"I am," Tsunade confirmed.

"But Tsunade why would you let her go?" Shizune inquired.

"Because right now being here is too much for her to handle. She can't face her own guilt. I just hope that she learns to accept the fact that she can't save the whole world sooner than I did," Tsunade explained with a sad look on her face.


End file.
